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July 1995 - Life imitates wrestling

Several friendships broke up in July while Bischoff was trying to mend fences. First, Hulk Hogan considered his friendship with Brian Knobbs over. Hogan spoke to a radio show and made comments about Knobbs “deserting” WCW after Hogan stuck up for him. Bret Hart and Sid Vicious began to have problems backstage, as Vicious began starting rumors that Hart was getting special treatment. For example, Sid Vicious started a rumor that Bret Hart was supposed to job to him a few months back but refused. Vicious also began telling people he was going to leave WCW if he wasn't "treated better," but never did. None of these rumors could be proven either, although curiously, Sid and Hart were never put into a storyline together. Fans then began thinking these “backstage” troubles were a work.

Chris Benoit had trained to be a wrestler at the Dungeon under Stu Hart and was close friends of the Hart family, or so everyone thought. Dean Malenko surprisingly became Benoit’s close backstage ally when he helped resolve some backstage conflicts with Owen Hart and Benoit. Chris Benoit and Malenko then became good friends. They went on a radio show together and Malenko said some rather harsh comments about some other wrestlers in the company without telling Benoit. This radio show appearance was a small problem, as Malenko and Benoit were supposed to be in a feud. Dusty had to go out of his way to talk to both men about this, although Benoit had become distant thanks to Malenko's surprising comments. It began to become apparent even to the wrestling media that the problems in the locker room had increased, not decreased, since the World title change.

While Bischoff contemplated a solution to this, he began booking longer storylines in July. Barry Windham began a program with Sting when Barry Windham began taunting him repeatedly. Basically, Windham called him a flash in the pan and somebody who could never beat a ring-expert like himself. Windham was getting over a bit slower now since his heel turn and needed these strong angles. He began calling Sting a ‘company man’, what Windham had been months ago prior to his turn. He also lost to Sting in tag-action, but Windham pointed returned a favor with a series of backstage attacks.

Dusty decided that the Malenko/Benoit feud needed some more attention on air, so slowed it down and concentrated on giving Malenko a legitimate reason to dislike Benoit. Malenko said in a promo that he was colder than The Ice Man Chris Benoit and he proved this by getting more vicious in the ring. His first victim was Benoit’s partner, Saturn. Malenko made Saturn submit, holding the submission after the bell in typical heel fashion. He then even made Owen Hart submit the next week. The following Nitro, Malenko said that he was the new submission expert and to prove it, he was going to make Chris Benoit submit next. Malenko challenged him to a submission match.

Lastly, the War Games were hyped from the first of July. This time, it would be Hogan and Vader, head to head, as captains of their teams. Bischoff feared that Hogan may have lost some of his heat thanks to his title loss to Vader. He had lost some, as fans were now simply not interested at all, instead of either loving him or hating him, as in the past. Hogan was at least able to carry tag-matches. Traditional War Games members, the Road Warriors, were recruited by Vader this time, as they had always been faces in the past. Rounding out Vader’s team was Sid and the seven foot Beast. Incredibly, The Beast was still getting attention, after losing consecutive PPV matches. It was just impossible for the Booking Team to deny his unique appearance, but the look alone did not make the wrestler.

Hogan earned the respect of Bret and Owen Hart with a rescue from the Road Warriors on one Nitro, earning also their participation on his War Games team. Hogan then cut a promo on one Nitro inviting Ric Flair into the ring and the resulting response from the fans seemed to tell him who would be in the team next. And so it was, as Flair was added. Flair then took the mic and called out Ricky Steamboat to join him in the ring, jumping ahead to pre-maturely recruit him too. Steve Austin then interrupted and Bischoff began his anti-hero storyline, as the traditionalism was going overboard by this point. Austin then snatched the mic and told Flair and Steamboat that if they wanted to win, they were going to need the dirtiest “son of a bitch” in WCW. That was a no no, as Flair snatched the mic back and reminded him that he was the dirtiest player in the game. Austin then gave Flair and Steamboat both a “stunner,” a finishing move that Steve personally came up with that reminded him of his days as “Stunning Steve Austin,” only this time he literally was stunning. It was ironic and funny, at least to Austin.

After that surprisingly good promo, Dusty had to prompt Bischoff to give Austin more promos, as Bischoff didn’t see him as marketable, stunning or not. Bischoff thought about Austin’s push as TV champ and wondered what Dusty saw in this guy, a former tag-wrestler who could strut around and look bad ass. Again, Bischoff clung to the belief that fans wanted veterans such as those already on the roster, like Greg Valentine or Bret Hart. Austin was then given some rope to hang himself with, but never did he once falter. On the final two Nitros before War Games, Austin hosted a talk show he called ‘A Flare for the Old’, of course a play on Flair’s classic promos ‘A Flair for the Gold.’ Luckily, Dusty was there to promote the whole thing within the booking team, scripting most of Austin’s promos personally. Austin was never given his War Games place, that going to Ricky Steamboat as predicted.

The fans of a literal “stunning” Steve Austin were confused, yet interested. The TV champ would kick the butt of Michael Wallstreet and insult Ric Flair all on the same Nitro, so it was confusing to decide if he was face or heel. At least Bischoff was finally giving Flair something to do. No other wrestler on the roster was an anti-hero or walked the line between goodguy and badguy so closely as Steve Austin. Bischoff then feuded Austin with Harley Race, the authority of WCW and abandoned efforts to clearly define Austin as a heel. He figured that an anti-hero is most effective rebelling against someone, so who better to rebel against than a heel authority. Race had been the authority the fans loved to hate anyway.

After stunning Race on the final ‘A Flare for the Old,’ Race booked Austin against Lord Steven Regal out of revenge. Race also abused his power later that night and restarted the Austin match after a clear DQ, giving Regal more opportunity to win. And win he did, capturing the TV title too. Now Austin was really pissed off and turned his bad ass character into overdrive. Austin showed up at War Games, despite not being booked or expected there. Race showed up with Larry Zybysko, who had volunteered to be enforcer for the main event, as Ole had the previous year. But when the main event rolled around, Austin walked out, not Zybysko. Race claimed that Austin had ‘stunned’ him backstage, but produced no evidence. The two argued and played off each other while the main event went its course, Austin being subtly inserted as enforcer as Race didn’t have the backbone to remove him.

Finally, WCW pulled up a wagon full of Ted Turner’s money to get Dynamite back in the ring for one match and one match only. And one match it was, as Dynamite had already said that he hated the backstage atmosphere in WCW and people were missing him back in Japan. WCW seemed to be risking Dynamite’s health in booking him, although it was Dynamite that had agreed to the risk. Bischoff washed his hands of it and waited for the buys.

War Games - 1995 July

Dark Match: Saturn defeated Brian Pillman

Eddie Guerrero defeated Rey Mysterio Jr.

Harlem Heat defeated the Misfits (New Jersey Jim + Samu the Savage)

The Rock n’ Roll Express defeated Money Talks (Michael Wallstreet + Beautiful Bobby)

Submission Match: Chris Benoit defeated Dean Malenko by submission

Sting defeated Barry Windham

No DQ: Dynamite Kid defeated Davey Boy Smith

5 x 5 War Games Match:

Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat defeated

Big Van Vader, The Road Warriors, Sid Vicious, and The Beast

Bischoff felt a sense of relief with Vader as champion, because he was able to freshen up the main event scene. However, although War Games was perhaps better than previous PPVs because of a solid undercard, it did not exceed profits from those led by a Hulk Hogan singles match. Although buys were one worry, Bischoff decided that his new main event scene had to turn a healthy profit sooner rather than later.

The Giant was not included in the War Games match because he was selling his “cancer.” As silly as a wrestling cancer patient sounds, Bischoff did just that. However, it made The Giant seem more like an underdog against regular wrestlers, if anything. On Nitro, he got revenge for Steven Regal’s subtle victory at Uncensored, getting the win in a short match. However, Squire Chris Adams ran out and both Englishmen attacked The Giant. But The Giant made a surprising comeback and chokeslammed both wrestlers, finally giving the crowd something to go crazy for on Nitro. On War Games, The Giant was shown arriving backstage with the intent on joining the main event, but the Road Warriors intercepted him and attacked him. Hulk Hogan tried to make the save, but the Warriors produced weapons and attacked Hogan too. The heels stacked the deck in their favor.

The heels were favored to win the War Games main event, thanks to this attack on Hogan. The fans were a little relieved to see Hogan actually selling the match a bit more, as well as his injured condition. He was the one who was targeted to try to get him to “give up” or submit, the Road Warriors double-teaming him most of the match. Some fans might have believed Steamboat or even Flair giving up, but not the human glass ceiling. Hogan was pounded pretty good however, as both the Road Warriors raked his face against the cage and stomped him into the mat. WCW returned to the traditional format of the War Games, instead of last year’s elimination cage rules.

Once all ten men had entered the cage in timed fashion, WCW had what was referred to as "the match beyond.”. Both teams brawled in the cage for as long as it took until a member of either team submitted, surrendered, or was knocked unconscious. There was no pinfall and no disqualification, leaving almost every member of the main event bloodied. This was especially true of Hogan, whose blonde locks were completely stained red by the end.

Sid Vicious was booked to lose the match and give up just as the Road Warriors caused Hogan to pass out and thus win. Austin and Race both did not notice this fact and called the match in favor of Hogan’s team. After the faces celebrated, Sid Vicious later threw a tantrum backstage and was upset about his booking to lose without gaining any heat back. Sid said that he had simply been told to “walk to the back” and not to act angry at either the Road Warriors or Hogan. Bischoff attempted to calm the big man down, but he went off on how Bret Hart was controlling the booking team through his father, Stu. Sid vowed to leave WCW. Again.

---

Edited by Nottavictim
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Wrestling with Shadows - Sid Vicious

"Welcome back to Wrestling with Shadows, the investivative program looking deep into the heart of issues in wrestling," Peter Michaels says, "On today's show, we were supposed to bring you an interview with the Nature Boy Ric Flair, but while we were at WCW, our crew got caught up in another interesting story."

The screen blacks and fades in on Sid Vicious, but there is no sound. Vicious seems to be arguing with Arn Anderson and Larry Zybysko. Zybysko talks calmly, as if the mediator, but Arn Anderson simply waves dismissively and walks off. Sid Vicious looks annoyed.

"We followed around Sid Vicious around after War Games in July, and he told us about some of his personal problems in the company," Michaels narrates, "Sid Vicious told us his problems began when WCW brought Bret Hart on board."

Sid Vicious stands in a backstage hallway and tells Michaels, "I don't know what the deal is with Bret. He came on to give us a little more star power, you know. And he got attention right away, you know. Guess what I did during "Bret Hart" month? I jobbed to some youngster," Sid says.

The picture fades back to Peter Michaels in the studio again, "Sid told me that he was also a bit envious of Bret Hart, as his push continued for most of 1994 and for some of 1995. Bret seemed to be getting constant attention"

Pictured again in that shadowy hallway, Sid crosses his arms and continues, "Yeah there's a whole bunch of em' here, Harts I mean. His father Stu is on the booking team. Don't you think that's a conflict of interesting or something? Maybe. I don't know, man. Listen, Bret gets stuff all the time and I'm still doing the same thing."

"What would you suggest they do instead?" Michaels asks.

"Listen, I can do a storyline. I can, really. But hey, when the youngsters don't work or some angle flops, they call me. I'm WCW's safety value. You know what I mean? A safety value type guy that they always call up and ask me to put over the next one that they're pushing."

"You mean, Eric Bischoff?" Michaels asks.

Sid chuckles a little and says, "Yeah, I said 'they', I mean the little guy, sorry. Bischoff just about controls everything. Sure, he's got people running around for him, but hey, he makes the calls and junk. If Bischoff wanted me to look a little better, I have no doubt, no single doubt he could do it. He could do it easy. He could."

Back at the studio, Michaels looks a little more serious as he says, "Saying Sid was unhappy would be an understatement. That day, we went right to the source, and asked Eric Bischoff about this situation.

"Eric, how do you respond to Sid's comments?" Michaels asks after cutting to the interview. They both are in WCW's plush offices.

"I'm not sure what to say really, just that the wrestlers don't get to decide the outcomes of matches. They don't get to make a final decision on anything. They are employees of WCW. Listen, I understand Sid is unhappy. I understand that. But he needs to suck it up a little and start being a professional," Bischoff says.

Back at the studio, Peter Michaels concludes, "After hearing these comments from each side, it was clear that the two parties were not communicating. They agreed to sit down with us and discuss the issue."

Eric Bischoff and Sid Vicious now sit together in WCW's offices. Sid has his arms crossed, looking annoyed and seems to stare at the wall as Eric Bischoff merely sits quietly. The camera pans over to Peter Michaels, who says, "Thank you gentlemen for joining me today. We're here to discuss the issue Sid brought up---"

"I just wish Sid would be more professional," Bischoff interjects suddenly, "Before you get started, I want to point out that I have tried resolving it. I can't even get through one discussion with him though."

"Oh shaddup Eric. God, man. Listen, I want to be treated better, that's it. You can't even discuss that?"

"I can discuss just about anything, but you want to yell and curse," Bischoff says bitterly.

"Whatever Eric. Try discussing the topic isntead of accusing me of junk. Like you usually do."

"Try discussing your release," Bischoff replies pointedly. He gets up from his seat, removes his microphone, and walks off without another word. Sid Vicious certainly has nothing more to say to that so sits quietly as the picture fades out.

The picture fades back to Peter Michaels in the studio again as he concludes, "It is obvious Sid vicious is wrestling with more than just Eric Bischoff. But he would not reveal to us what that is. Perhaps someday he will confide in someone, but it was obvious to me that his present environment brings out the worst in him. Sid Vicious has been released from WCW."

---

Edited by Nottavictim
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August 1995 - Main Event Gold

With Big Van Vader as champion, Eric Bischoff felt a lot more creative in August. The World Title was the center of WCW programming again, as opposed to another feud. For example, when the two Bulldogs were feuding, Mean Mark did very little to build his feud against Vader in June and the World Title became second fiddle. However, Mark Callous was the master of the vinette, which helped. In August, Bret Hart and Vader became the center of the World Title picture. Hart began a feud with Vader that began more subtly at War Games, when the two brawled repeatedly.

Bret Hart was hyped as the last great challenger WCW had and Vader pulled out all the tricks to play mind-games with him, recruiting Davey Boy Smith to be with him at ringside for August. Unfortunately, no tricks could stop Hart and he put his determined character into overdrive. As the feud began, Vader destroyed Owen Hart and everyone knows Bret Hart defends the little guy, no offense to Owen. Bret came out and faced down Vader, amazingly enough, however Davey Boy attacked him from behind.

The feud continued immediately on the next Nitro with Bret Hart opening the show with an emotional promo. He seemed less casual and more determined, as he believed Vader crossed the line, making their rivalry personal. Vader did this even moreso by backing out of a tag-match and putting Davey Boy Smith in his spot. Again, WCW’s storylines imitated life, as Smith was the brother in-law of Bret Hart. The two, who have opposed each other before, did so one more time. During the tag-match, WCW cut to shots of Smith’s wife Diana in the crowd. She was the sister of Bret Hart, so the match was packed with as much past emotion as possible. Hart emerged victorious, but not without taking a vicious beating for which he didn’t wrestle until the pay per view. Backstage vinettes kept fans updated on Hart‘s condition, as he began “training” and rehabbing for a World Title match with Vader. The build-up was McMahon-esque.

Steve Austin was quickly put into another feud before he ruined Flair’s heat with promos of “The Flare for the Old.“ He began working against 44 year old Paul Orndorff, who had turned heel on Paul Roma a while back. Orndorff recruited hyperactive Brian Pillman to be annoyingly present at ringside for his matches. Pillman also jumped, beatdown or ambushed most of Orndorff’s enemies, except for Austin. Although Pillman caused a DQ in a tag-match, Austin delivered a stunner before Orndorff rescued him. So it was that the storyline heated up.

There was one thing Sid Vicious got right, if that’s believable. The Hart family was a big part of WCW, especially in August. Stu Hart was instrumental in not letting several wrestlers drift off the map, namely The Giant and Hulk Hogan. As big as these men had become, it was easy for Stu to get them to focus on what they needed to do. Stu Hart was the grandfather to everyone on the roster and so, gained respect because of his age. But after his age got him in the door, Stu was able to relate some advice that was actually practical. He let The Giant know that his “cancer” angle was not the best in the world, but had an idea to deflect the focus away from that and onto an interaction with the Road Warriors. The Warriors had, after all, attacked both The Giant and Hogan at the War Games.

Bischoff gave Stu free-reign after listening to this new direction for the team of Hogan and The Giant. The bigger man actually was portrayed as the weaker member, which Hogan liked, as he was used to carrying teams. The two of them struggled with the Road Warriors, as the hard-hitting heels were able to storytell perhaps the best of any team on the roster. Bischoff then interjected with a way to wiggle out The Giant out of his angle. Jim Cornette, manager of the Road Warriors, announced he had found a doctor to give The Giant surgery enough to cure him of the cancer.

Stu Hart was a bit boggled at this revelation, wondering where these storylines had come from. In any case, Cornette refused to give up the name of the doctor or help The Giant in any way, unless of course, they could beat the Road Warriors at the Great American Bash. Not a complicated gimmick by any means, but not the best either. What was much better was Steve Austin’s interactions with Paul Orndorff.

Orndorff picked up the feud with a promo near the end of the month. He came out and simply said Steve Austin was a loser. And not just a loser, but reinforced his gimmick and said he was a redneck loser. Orndorff didn’t just walk up and say this though, but got into the ring with Tony Schiavone and WCW built it all up as an official interview. Orndorff was similar to Jesse Ventura in that he would take his time during promos and could make a mere sentence emotional. But, he was given five to ten minutes to speak, so that helped. And with Brian Pillman just standing in the background cackling, it was even better.

[promo]

“Austin, you’re a loser. I want you to hear me. I think you’re a loser and just like the other kids in this company, I’m gonna show you how to clean the toilet. But…maybe I won’t once you admit that when you’re in the ring with Mr. Wonderful, you‘re a made man. You can tell all your friends and your buddies that Mr. Wonderful took you to school and wrestled the hell outta you. There’s one guarantee. At the Great American Bash, you’re gonna get schooled, because it‘s gonna be a Street Fight. And you‘re not gonna graduate, boy,” Paul Orndorff said.

[/promo]

Jesse Ventura then renewed his backstage rivalry with Hogan. They both disagreed with the color commentary that Jesse provided during a Hogan match. Hogan claimed that Jesse was going out of his way to “run down” Hogan and over emphasize mistakes he made. Jesse Ventura later claimed to a radio show that he had no idea what “overselling” meant and so walked out on WCW instead of deal with these types of comments. Everyone knew a conflict was coming sooner or later, as the two men disliked each other. Inexplicably, Bischoff was left without a skilled color commentator, but at first tried JJ Dillon then switched to Larry Zybysko.

WCW signed Buddy Landel, the Nature Boy, who had been touring the independents since the closing of Smokey Mountain Wrestling. He immediately began a program with Ric Flair who was still thankfully a babyface, pitting Landel as an arrogant Nature Boy and Flair as the crowd favorite. Landel began by taunting Flair, as he had good microphone skills and was able to hold the crowd through a promo. Others on the roster could not do this, such as Greg Valentine or Barry Windham. The feud continued through the Great American Bash at the end of August.

Buddy Landel walked out with a sparkly robe, bleached blonde hair and had some of the same mannerisms of the real Nature Boy. He didn’t do the ‘Woo’ though, that’s where he said he drew the line. Of course, anyone who “ripped off” Ric Flair was the devil to a WCW fan, but when they were both in the ring, you had to blink your eyes a few times as you were seeing double. Landel challenged Flair to a “Nature Boy” match, which of course, put the monikur on the line. Flair began to think this was Bischoff’s way of getting him to change his wardrobe or cut his hair, as Jim Herd had threatened. But surprisingly, Bischoff wanted Flair to beat Landel soundly and smack him around like a rookie. Landel was to cheat even more than Flair ever had, illegally use the ropes for leverage, slip the fight to the outside and other tactics. The match was actually fairly decent, but fans really didn’t care much about Landel. They cared more about the main event.

Bret Hart was able to look the best out of anyone that month in promos, especially with Owen Hart standing next to him looking sympathetic. Owen began walking with a crutch, thanks to Vader’s attack earlier that month. And every wrestling fan knows what that means. The crutch becomes a weapon. During a tag-match, Ricky Steamboat and Bret Hart were taking on The Queen’s Team, Regal and Chris Adams. And again, Owen was standing at ringside, with his crutch, looking sympathetic. Vader walked down to ringside and started bullying Owen, then grabbed his crutch and broke it completely in half over his back. Well, needless to say, Bret forgot about the match and began brawling with Vader at ringside. The match broke down into a Mick Foley brawl. Vader finished off the night with a slam of Bret Hart through a table, shattering it.

Lastly, the other gimmick match on the pay per view, was the American Elimination Match. It was basically a regular, 6-man elimination match, but everyone wore American colors, even the heels. However, The Misfits disliked this stipulation, like classic heels. The Misfits stole and ripped up Chris Benoit’s American flag and choked him with the tattered pieces. No word on whether that is against US law. Of course, it came down to The Ice Man Chris Benoit against the largest man in wrestling. You’ve got to hand it to Benoit, he was actually able to wrestle The Beast. For the first time ever, The Beast looked decent. For five minutes, at least.

Great American Bash - August 1995

Dark Match: Saturn defeated DDP w/ Kimberly

Paul Roma defeated Eddie Guerrero

Ricky Steamboat defeated Lord Steven Regal w/ Squire Chris Adams by DQ

American Elimination Match: The Rock n’ Roll Express + Chris Benoit defeated

The Misfits (Samu, The Beast, New Jersey Jim) w/ Jimmy Hart

Street Fight: Steve Austin defeated Paul Orndorff

Harlem Heat defeated Barry Windham + Greg Valentine

Nature Boy Match: Ric Flair defeated Buddy Landel

Sting defeated Rick Rude

Hulk Hogan and the Giant defeated The Road Warriors

Bret Hart defeated Big Van Vader for the WCW World Title

Then something happened that was unthinkable and overshadowed everything WCW did that month, including the great main event feud. The WWF re-signed The Ultimate Warrior. Everyone in the locker room thought the Warrior was gone for good, but Vince apparently changed his mind. He later gave an interview and said that the fans still had been demanding the Warrior, but insiders knew it was a ploy to win the ratings war.

The Warrior dismantled Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs on successive WWF TV shows, all the while putting on the most god-awful matches possible. The Warrior refused or simply did have the talent to put over the Nasty Boys, even though they were a hot attraction. Vince then put the Warrior in a feud with Lex Luger, a heel which did not seem to complement the Warrior’s style. Those matches were even more horrendous, however were short, sweet and to the point and extremely popular with the fans. The Warrior came out on top, horrifying insiders. The WWF however, sold out the arena. Meanwhile, they tried to boost the Summerslam workrate with the Macho Man taking on the youngster, James Townsend, an excellent match. Unfortunately, the WWF did not put this youngster over.

WWF Summerslam in August 1995

The Warlord defeated Otto Wanz

The Smoking Gunns defeated Team Edge

Men on a Mission defeated the King and Typhoon

Macho Man Randy Savage defeated James Townsend

Shawn Michaels defeated Mister Perfect

Pierre Oulette defeated Fatu for the WWF Intercontinental Title

Razor Ramon defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan

The Ultimate Warrior defeated Lex Luger

Bret Hart was put over by WCW and won the World Title. After the Great American Bash main event was over, several wrestlers came out to shake Hart’s hand. Owen came out on his crutches, along with Ricky Steamboat, The Giant and several others. They were all flanked by Ric Flair, who walked to the ring slowly. The crowd seemed to enjoy this pay per view better than they had previous WCW pay per views. After offering his hand, Bret Hart was knocked on his ass by none other than Nature Boy Ric Flair. The other wrestlers restrained Flair as he stomped the Hitman and tossed Flair from the ring.

Flair was incensed, tossing chairs and upending tables. He grabbed a microphone, “Bret Hart! I…am…the Naaaa---ture Boy…Ric Flair! And I proved it tonight, baby. I proved it tonight in front of all these screaming fans! Listen to em’! Woo!” he said with a grin and then grew serious as he pointed at Bret Hart, “You know what Bret Hart, I prove it every night and people don't lose faith in winners. The Nature Boy just keeps winning and winning, and you know why, because I've got the greatest ability and talent and woo! I'm the greatest athlete alive today. I'm the man and you don‘t deserve to hold that belt. That's right. You’ll come and go, but there's only one Ric Flair and he deserves to be World Champion over all you! All of you in the ring! These fans want to see /me/. And I don't care if its Atlantic City, Atlanta, Georgia or Charlotte, North Carolina! Woo! I'm the man making this show possible. Only one. I am a winner Bret Hart, I walk down that aisle, get in that ring and win. Woo! And I'm gonna win against you too and bring that title home where it belongs, baby. That's why I am...the…greatest…haha!”

---

Edited by Nottavictim
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Wrestling with Shadows - Dustin Rhodes

"Weclome back to Wrestling with Shadows, the investigative show that delves deep into the latest issues in wrestling. Today we're looking at Dustin Rhodes, the son of the multi-time wrestling champion Dusty Rhodes," Peter Michaels says.

"Make no doubt about it, some people like Sid Vicious would claim that family members get special treatment because of influence of other family members on the booking team. For example, last time Eric Bischoff was adamant in his denial that none of the Hart family had any influence over the recent push of Bret Hart," Michaels continues, "But others have a different story."

The screen cuts to Dusty Rhodes sitting at a long, fold-table in what looks like a backstage area. He fingers a cup of coffee as he says, "Yeah, I'm not afraid to admit all the wrongs in my life. Not afraid to admit em. No sir. I gave my son a few matches to win when I was booking the show. But nowadays you have to work with a team, so really there's no way it could happen."

The camera fades to a video montage of Dustin Rhodes as he was wrestling and Peter Michaels narrates, "When Dusty Rhodes returned to WCW in May of 1995, he returned without young Dustin, who had himself begun to wrestle with more shadows in the wrestling business. Without his father, Dustin wrestled the independents, but bookings were very few until they dwindled to nothing. He eventually turned up on High-Octane Wrestling, a local promotion based in Mexico. We received permission to travel there to interview Dustin."

The screen fades in on the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Peter Michaels stands in the sun in some plaid shorts and a ballcap. He says, "Welcome to hot Chihuahua. Don't ask me to repeat that. If I'm acting a bit on edge, it's because it's hot and the days are certainly long. Did I mention it's hot? Anyway, we visited High-Octane Wrestling here in the downtown district of the busy city. However, when we went inside, it was anything but busy."

The screen cuts to two men wrestling, obviously lucha-wrestlers from Mexico. Their appearance is nondescript, but the camera quickly pans to the crowd and only about a half-dozen people are there. One man eats a hot dog, another is yelling something in spanish and finally another sits looking bored. His t-shirt reads "I'm the Superfly, bitch."

Peter Michaels looks deadpan at the camera and says, "It was an exciting night. But that was just the beginning."

The screen cuts back to the ring of High-Octane Wrestling. A spanish announcer can be heard yelling through some microphone feedback, "ZZZZZZ...ahora...bienvenida por favor...Dustin...ZZZZhodes!" he barely says. Dustin Rhodes runs out to no reaction whatsoever. The man in the front takes a bite of his hot dog and licks some ketchup on his hand, then reaches out to attempt to high-five Dustin. Dustin looks at the crowd strangely.

"ZZZZz...BEEEEP...y antagonista...El Mosca!" the announcer tries to say. A man, perhaps a teenager, runs out looking like a human fly. His lucha character is obviously a fly, but his giant bug eyes obscure his vision as he trips over a cord while making for the ring stairs. He bangs his head on these pointed stairs, but thankfully gets up after only a few minutes of unconsciousness. A few shouts from the man in the Superfly t-shirt do not help. Mercifully, the screen cuts back to Peter Michaels outside.

Peter Michaels sighs some and says, "It was at least an air-conditioned building. Anyway, the masked Fly lost via submission, but we will spare you the match highlights ladies and gentlemen. My point in showing you all this is that Dustin Rhodes can fall no further. In all my years of reporting, I don't think I've ever seen such a horrible production. Imagine being trapped in a world where you speak very little of the language, make very little to live off of and have grown to hate, dare I say dispise, the very thing you used to love to do. That's how Dustin Rhodes feels."

"After seeing what we just saw, Dustin Rhodes refused to talk with us. But Dusty Rhodes released a tape of a phone message to us from Dustin after we also showed Dusty the previous footage. He was understandably concerned. As any father would be. Here is the phone message," Peter Michaels introduces.

"[bEEP] Hi Dad, it's Dustin. Listen, I just got done eating and I was thinking, maybe I should come home. You wouldn't be too proud of me, Dad. I wrestled in front of six [beep]ing today, Dad. God Dammit! Six [beep]ing people! I could not believe it, trust me. At first I was like 'Hey it's Mexico, they love WCW there, I'm gonna make out big-time.' But you were right, I got [beep]ed all over the place. They stuck me in a two-person room with five people and they had bunk beds. [beep]ing bunk beds, god dammit. What is this, the boy scouts or a wrestling promotion? They didn't even have me sign anything or promise anything, apparently they just slip the guys some money. If they make any. I dunno how it works really. The guy in charge gave me a bill once and I think he actually asked for change. Can you believe that? [beep]ing change. I'm coming home right [beep]ing now, Dad. And yes, I'm still mad at you but not mad enough to endure eating [beep] on toast and sleeping in a [beep]ing bunk bed."

Peter Michaels smirks and says, "Dustin Rhodes did not enjoy Mexico. He is currently cutting lawns back in the United States. No word on when he'll return to wrestling."

---

Edited by Nottavictim
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September 1995 - A Deadline for Change

Eric Bischoff was excited about Bret Hart as his WCW World Champion, as if the Macho Man or any other WWF champion was inferior. Bischoff did not fight a Hart and Flair feud, surprising most everyone on the booking team. After the booking team snuck in a little more for Flair to do last month and the entire pay per view concluded with a Ric Flair promo, Bischoff was put into a bad position. If he did not follow up on Flair’s challenge long-term, certainly WCW fans would not be happy, nor would some of the wrestlers. He decided to support the feud. There were other wrestlers that needed that follow-up too, such as Steve Austin.

Steve Austin came off well in his feud with Paul Orndorff and immediately Bischoff had an idea to feud him with Davey Boy Smith next. Both men however, did not like that idea. Smith did not like Austin’s character and Austin did not think he would work well with Smith’s style. The two argued when Bischoff tried to go ahead with it anyway, and eventually they had to be separated from arguing backstage. Bischoff then began to think of what to do next with Steve Austin instead of a Davey Boy feud, as he wanted to follow up on his momentum from the previous month. Nothing came to mind, so Austin was left with nothing except his weekly promos. And those promos really weren’t anything special.

The Giant won his first title off of Steven Regal on Nitro, becoming the TV champ, but then the booking team had a problem with what to do next . Unfortunately, like most big men in WCW, Dusty and Stu Hart found it a challenge to book him against credible challengers. Big men would undoubtedly come out either looking totally dominant or the Giant would look foolish, if the smaller man happened to get the pin.

Ole Anderson was assigned to The Booking Team to take on a new role helping two new recruits. Brad and Steve Armstrong were signed and became gimmicky college athletes, a take-off of the Steiner Brothers called the Armstrong Brothers. After they did not get much reaction in their debut, so Ole put on a pair of sunglasses, a ballcap and a varisty jacket to help them on-screen. After being disguised, they called him The Skipper. No, it wasn’t a Gillian’s Island gimmick, but a coach character. Throughout September, Ole’s usual gruff demeanor lended easily to being a coach on-screen for these wrestlers. He then began harassing his old rival Ric Flair, while the announcers speculated wildly about who The Skipper could be. It was quite obvious to the fans, but somehow Mike Tenay missed it. Wrestling fans liked to have questions answered and they were denied this opportunity. A mystery was formed and that seemed intriguing.

In September, Miss Elizabeth was signed by WCW, and rumors started that WCW was trying to get the Macho Man by doing so. However, Elizabeth was divorced from Randy Savage and had been out of the WWF for some time, so that rumor died quickly. She began escorting Bret Hart to the ring, of all people. Next, WCW recruited Sherri Martel to valet for Ric Flair, so both women were at ringside whenever Flair confronted Hart. This added an extra element for the main event at Fall Brawl, in that both women were acting out a rivalry too.

Ole Anderson just hated the character of Mean Mark and was getting some of the booking team on his side by the end of the month. He just thought that the character was bland and rather generic, lacking the uniqueness that even made Dr. Death stand out. Bischoff really wanted to use some sort of undead gimmick to play off his WWF popularity, but feared a lawsuit. They then thought they might recruit the weird gimmick expert, Charles Wright aka Papa Shango to be his partner, but Bruce Hart realized that Mean Mark really needed to remain a face. In a meeting, they narrowed the new gimmick down to either a Preacher or a Russian Badass. Bischoff disliked both choices, but Ole argued for the Preacher or voodoo gimmick, saying that it played off his past established personality, a supernatural type. A preacher who no-sells and is badass cannot be that far of a stretch. In any case, they held out Mean Mark while WCW contemplated his new direction

The first week of September, ECW’s television show was cancelled after a scandal. USWA’s longtime syndicated show was also pulled, leaving only WCW and the WWF as the only American promotions with wrestling shows. ECW’s scandal damaged the wrestling business, because it featured controversial angles that went beyond storylines and gimmicks. They had blood, swearing, drinking and hot women getting their butts kicked. However, the TV network began to censor the show without telling Heyman, editing controversial angles and blood as well. After hearing of this, Paul Heyman cut a promo insulting the network for that censorship, in a lengthy diatribe. The network then began to censor Heyman’s promos too. ECW then created an annoying network executive played by the same gimmick expert WCW had talked about, Charles Wright. Wright wore wire-rimmed glasses, a white shirt and a suit that allowed him to look annoying as possible to go along with his annoying gimmick. Needless to say, the network found very little humor in this. ECW fans loved to see the executive get beat up though.

Another businessman that began making waves was Jesse Ventura. After walking out of WCW a month back, Ventura had disappeared from the wrestling radar. However in September, Jesse Ventura formed a financial partnership with Bob Armstrong in Armstrong’s small promotion, Georgia Wrestling. By the end of the month, Ventura had bought the small promotion outright from the Armstrong family but kept Bob on as the booker. A week later, WCW sued Jesse Ventura for breach of contract, unable to accept Ventura working for another company, no matter how small it was. However, Ventura refused to return to work. Bischoff and Ventura worked out a settlement where Georgia Wrestling would accept WCW wrestlers in exchange for WCW dropping their suit. The small promotion would give youngsters a place to practice their craft and for veterans to reinvent themselves. Needless to say, Ventura was not too happy about Bischoff boxing him into a corner in this way, but would not relinquish his new investment or return to work. So he was stuck with the settlement.

WCW sent down Jim Powers, Shogun, Mean Mark and the Mountie to participate in the Armstrong family promotion, but none felt welcome. Bob Armstrong hyped his first co-event with WCW as a ‘wresting’ show, which had excellent matches first and entertainment second. This seemed to go against the grain in present day wrestling and critics began to speculate how long it would last. Critics also had a field day speculating how long the Ultimate Warrior would last in the WWF.

As a result of the Ultimate Warrior‘s return, the WWF gained a little ground back on WCW. Bischoff tried a few surprises to keep Fall Brawl fresh, but only one worked like a charm. That was the return of Ron Simmons to WCW, immediately getting a babyface reaction and rightfully so, as he played up his badass persona excellently. Both Sting and Ricky Steamboat put over Simmons when he joined them in their 6-man match. Ron Simmons had this quiet, badass persona that seemed to work well for him.

After the team of Money Talks lost another match on Nitro, Michael Wallstreet turned on his partner and began beating up Bobby Eaton. Then Bischoff sprung his next surprise, Stan Lane ran out to make the save, thus reforming the Midnight Express. Stan Lane was further put over when a week later he tossed the untrustworthy Jim Cornette from the ring and the team came out on top of the Road Warriors. Beautiful Bobby and Stan Lane were favorites of WCW’s traditional, southern audience and this helped ratings, but did not seem to mix with alternative angles Bischoff wanted.

WCW signed Jimmy Garvin, another old veteran. However, Bischoff did not like his old style gimmick, instead Ole Anderson added him to The Executioners led by Dr. Death, naming him Bones. The supernatural trio of Executioners were fine for entertainment purposes, but not for wrestling. After all, no one on the booking team expected them to win and Bones got to paint his face white to reinforce their gimmicky nature. Steve Williams went to Bischoff and frustratedly explained his moniker, that Dr. Death was a hardcore nickname. This was ignored because of the gimmicks and Bischoff didn‘t want to change them. This inflexibility hurt the morale of the wrestlers. Bischoff caught wind of this disgruntled attitude and booked them to lose again to the Midnight Express. Whether the booking was a punishment was never discovered.

Brian Pillman then began a series of promos claiming that he had never been respected by anyone in WCW, not Davey Boy Smith, not Bret Hart and not Paul Orndorff. He had been the sidekick to all of them, but he himself was getting a ‘bodyguard’ to force people to respect him this time. At Fall Brawl, Brian Pillman brought out his bodyguard, Mr. Hughes, a large man with shades, reminiscent of Butch Reed or Ron Simmons. Pillman was so confident in his new bodyguard, that he issued an open challenge, which was answered by none other than Steve Austin, who finally had a budding feud. Unfortunately for Pillman, Austin was sure to win the match, but Hughes interfered and caused a DQ. Hughes then went further and powerbombed ‘The Stunner’. It seemed to get some reaction, at least. Hughes and Austin battled on the outside until Pillman leaped from the ring onto Austin.

The Skipper, with his disguise, continually tried to help his varsity boys, the Armstrong Brothers, cheat to win. Harlem Heat put them straight, but Arn Anderson appeared for the first time in a long time, coming down to the ring to confront this coach or “Skipper,” who everyone knew was Ole Anderson anyways. This confrontation never materialized, as the Brian Armstrong attacked Arn on the outside, thus leaving his partner victim to a pinfall. However, Arn had seemingly turned babyface with this appearance and got an appropriate reaction for doing so. WCW would definitely follow-up.

The Giant was free of the burden of a “cancer” angle, but as the TV champion, everyone seemed to want to get the title off of him instead of letting him run with it. How they would get this giant wrestler to lose was also up for debate and it became a second burden for The Giant. WCW tried to push the TV title and The Giant’s possession of it as important, immediately beginning a feud with Paul Orndorff. Orndorff was given the time to cut promos and once ambushed The Giant backstage after he came out to “backtalk” to him, as Orndorff called it. Orndorff attacked The Giant’s legs and hurt him with weapons.

Beyond these attacks, Bischoff figured that the easiest way to create a believable loss was by having an even bigger man attack The Giant. The only one was The Beast aka Paul Silva. He interfered in the Giant’s match and allowed Paul Orndorff to the get the pinfall. He actually bodyslammed the Giant when the referee was distracted by New Jersey Jim, a feat not having been done before. The Giant was then an obvious candidate for a feud with The Beast, but the booking team would have to talk about that first.

Fall Brawl - September 1995

Dark Match - Saturn defeated Samu the Savage w/ New Jersey Jim

Dark Match - Eddie Guerrero defeated Tracy Smothers

The Midnight Express defeated The Hangman + Bones w/ Dr. Death

Steve Austin defeated Brian Pillman w/ Mr. Hughes by DQ

Harlem Heat defeated the Armstrong Brothers w/ The Skipper

Paul Orndorff defeated the Giant for the TV title

Road Warriors defeated the Rock n’ Roll Express

Davey Boy Smith defeated Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit for the US Title

Terry Funk defeated Greg Valentine

Sting, Ricky Steamboat and Ron Simmons defeated Vader, Barry Windham, and Lord Steven Regal

Bret Hart w/ Elizabeth defeated Ric Flair w/ Sherri

Bischoff began to wonder if he had done too many new things in September and in the process confused and overwhelmed the fans. He signed a number of workers who even appeared on the PPV, such as Tracy Smothers, Stan Lane, Ron Simmons and Jimmy Garvin aka Bones. A dip in quality began to show when critics rated WWF Backlash better Fall Brawl for the first time since 1993. It did not show in the buyrates however, as WCW clearly remained stable there. But Bischoff began to wonder if it wouldn’t begin to show sooner rather than later there too.

WWF In Your House - September 1995

Dark Match: The Barbarian defeated Doink

Bam Bam Bigalow went to a double DQ with Mankind

The Anvil defeated Tatanka and Mabel

Rick Steiner defeated Crush

Cataclysm (Tom Pitchard and the Z-Man) defeated the Smoking Gunns for the Tag-Titles

James Townsend defeated Scott Steiner by DQ

Pierre Oulette defeated Fatu w/Afa

HBK and Macho Man defeated the Nasty Boys

The Ultimate Warrior defeated Lex Luger

Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeated Mr. Perfect to retain the WWF Heavyweight Title

Fans began to wonder just where Hulk Hogan had disappeared to. After the first Nitro main event was hyped as such a great confrontation between Ric Flair and Rick Rude, fans did not notice. The next week, Hogan did not appear either and suddenly Hogan had missed more shows than he ever had before. When he did finally appear in a taped vinette, fans actually responded negatively. Fans were getting sick of Hulk Hogan.

The fan reaction was like a broken record, however Hogan clung to his spot and Bischoff tightly held onto his moneymaker. That is, until Ted Turner’s Scott Sassa came to visit Eric Bischoff. Scott Sassa had been absent since Bischoff was named head of WCW. Bischoff wasn’t ready to listen to any suggestions from him, so made several excuses to put off the meeting. However, Ted Turner reportedly gave Sassa a single task, to call a meeting of the Booking Team and make an ultimatum. And Sassa was going to do that, as he had found confidence running an entertainment division of Ted Turner’s business.

Ted Turner apparently had been channel flipping and actually watched one Nitro, which he had never done before. That is true, not an exaggeration. Turner was never concerned about the content of WCW, only that they beat the WWF in the ratings and scored higher in buyrates. However, even Turner could feel the war begin to shift in the WWF’s favor. Sassa called a booking team meeting and explained what Turner had said was WCW’s problem. It was their aging roster and traditional style.

The Booking Team met at the end of the month to discuss that topic. They had over a half-dozen total wrestlers over 40, including Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, Hulk Hogan and others. Youngsters like Steve Austin rarely cracked the upper card because of Bischoff’s philosophy that fans wanted to see established stars. The WWF seemed to have the opposite philosophy, as they pushed young Fatu, their King of the Ring Winner James Townsend, HBK and others. They nicknamed Townsend ‘The Natural’ James Townsend because of his natural charisma and winning smile. As a bodybuilder, James Townsend had a great build, but was somewhat lacking in the ring. That didn’t stop the WWF. They re-hired the Warrior, after all.

Sassa set a deadline for Bischoff to meet. By the New Year, WCW had to reinvent itself with younger stars like the WWF had and gain that ground back or there would be consequences. Bischoff could not believe he was hearing about a deadline. He had actually made WCW profitable. With Hulk Hogan. With veterans that fans wanted to see. Sassa told Bischoff that what the fans wanted to see had changed and these same fans had to be given what they wanted. Being a simple businessman, that seemed like a good philosophy. Fans wanted something different, something new, exciting, like ECW was doing for their fans. Bischoff however, was impossible to talk to. He claimed that the WWF was playing dirty tricks, such as when they put their PPV on the same day as WCW. Sassa left, however the deadline was still on.

The whole corporate structure of WCW made Bischoff’s job nearly impossible. For example, executives like Scott Sassa could show up for no apparent reason and talk to the wrestlers like a boss. Other executives might show up to give “advice” to those same wrestlers, however this advice would never be consistent. This confused the wrestlers and really frustrated Bischoff. Bischoff just wanted to run things his way. And he had been, until Turner’s deadline for change. Many assumed Bischoff was not going to make any changes, but a decision like that might be dangerous for Bischoff‘s future.

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October 1995 - A Frustrated Bischoff

In October, Sid Vicious was offered a part in a small-budget movie. Therefore, he left the wrestling business altogether and went to Hollywood, although wrestling insiders criticized him harshly for putting himself and his new ‘career’ over at a BCW show. Hulk Hogan could not be reached for comment, but most WCW wrestlers assumed this new career choice was a disaster waiting to happen and Sid would be back soon. When shooting began, there were immediately rumors about how unprofessional Sid was on the movie shoot. Some critics began to wonder about the quality of this so-called movie and it began to become known as a B-list production.

The deadline imposed by Ted Turner did not seem to motivate WCW backstage. First, Bischoff began to follow his old habits, pushing the bigger men and older veterans in feuds. However, there were some exceptions. One was a feud with the Giant versus the Beast, a confrontation that began a month ago in September when the Beast interfered in the Giant‘s match. The two wrestled rarely because The Beast was just not improving in the ring and even Jimmy Hart was being overwhelmed. Some people backstage disliked the two wrestler’s styles and others believed only true workman like Chris Benoit could get anything out of The Beast.

Furthermore, horrid characters hurt attendance and ratings. These characters were just too gimmicky even for WCW, such as the three man Executioners stable and the Varsity Club. Nevermind that Dusty Rhodes had invented most of them. Dusty sat in the backstage area however, and sipped his coffee, no matter what occurred. He contributed little to developing these gimmicky characters and neither The Misfits nor The Executioners became focused.

Wrestling critics reported that Dusty was depressed or had lost his passion for the wrestling business. When Bischoff asked Dusty for ideas, he had none to give. That was surprising, as Dusty always had something to say, though his ideas might not be the best ideas. He at least had something to contribute to the Booking Team, but not this time. Some then began to speculate that his problems with his son were really getting to him. Dustin Rhodes was cutting lawns for a month and then went to Canada, leaving his father’s watchful eye again. Dustin wrestled the Canadian independents, but did not make a blip on anyone’s radar.

WCW fans enjoyed the ‘mysteries’ that were developing in the storylines. First, the identity of The Skipper became the hottest mystery, but then again, everyone already knew that he was really Ole Anderson. The mystery became about when Arn Anderson would get the opportunity to unmask Ole Anderson. In the meantime, Ole used his varsity boys as bullies to threaten Arn Anderson, telling them what to do and when to do it.

Arn challenged him to a match to put the "mystery" identity on the line at Halloween Havoc. If Arn won, The Skipper would reveal his identity, but Ole wanted something if he won. He said that if he won, Ole was going to shave Arn completely bald. A humiliating prospect. Ole continued to encourage his stable, the Varsity Club, to harass and taunt Arn. Tammy Synch aka Tammy Lynn, who had been managing Paul Orndorff and Barry Windham, was moved into the stable as a gimmicky cheerleader, complete with outfit. She was good for cheap heat when she slapped Arn at one Nitro.

At Halloween Havoc, the mystery was solved and Arn Anderson beat the supposed Skipper to do. Ole had a suspicious smile and knowing look to give Arn after he whipped off his ballcap and disguise. Ole then offered to shake Arn’s hand, which was accepted. But then Ole clotheslined Arn Anderson and stomped him into the mat, viciously attacking him in classic heel style. Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko ran out to make the save, having competed together in a tag-match earlier in the night. However, by then it was too late. Ole had left, donned his varsity jacket again and was accompanied to the back by the arrogant Armstrong Brothers.

Second, Harlem Heat were blackmailed by The Queen’s Team, specifically Steven Regal. Regal came out each week with pictures and footage of Booker T living in a run-down apartment, broken down car and noisy neighbors. Regal even kicked the door of Booker’s car once and put a dent in it, but then remarked that he would never notice. This focus seemed to characterize Booker T as a hard-working wrestler. One time, the Queen’s Team paid a surprise visit to Booker T’s apartment building, which looked old and partially condemned. However, the people were not portrayed in usual stereotypical way, which might have been anticipated. Instead, when Booker’s neighbors saw Regal talking about Booker and filming the building to run him down, they defended him. These neighbors called Booker a hard-working man and courageous. One woman even began hitting Regal with her purse when he began to talk back to her. The Queen’s Team often departed in this fashion, which made Regal even more angry.

At Halloween Havoc, Regal tried to convince Booker T to fight him on the outside. Regal would roll from the ring and motion for Booker to join him. However, Booker T would stand in the ring patiently and remain confident that he didn’t need to fight Regal on the outside. A few minutes later, Chris Adams tossed Booker T to the outside forcibly and Regal revealed his plan. He took the mini-camera which he had been filming his Booker T footage with and began filming Booker T while Adams stomped him. The picture went to the overhead video wall for everyone to see. Then Stevie Ray made the save, knocking the camera from Regal’s hands and busted it. Regal kicked Stevie Ray in the midsection and threw him over the guardrail, then in his rage, took the broken camera and busted it over Booker T. Unfortunately, the referee was busy being distracted by Chris Adams.

When back in the ring, Booker T looked dazed, selling his outside injuries. The tag-team champions looked in desperate straights, as they tried to fight back, but Regal’s dirty tricks did the trick. This did not stop Booker T from kicking out several times, getting a good reaction from the crowd, who were urging him on. Regal rolled up the weaker Booker T and got the pin, thus winning the tag-team titles for his team. The tag-titles at last got attention from WCW.

Something funny happened to Austin during his feud with Brian Pillman, which continued from the previous month. During a match of Terry Funk versus Pillman, Steve Austin came down with a couple beers to join the announce team. Mr. Hughes tried to intimidate and argue with him, but Austin picked up a beer and cracked it off his forehead. However, that wasn’t the funny part. The funny part occurred when the match spilled to the outside and Austin again was goaded into a confrontation with Pillman. After throwing Pillman over a table, Funk stopped Austin by grabbing his arm. Austin frowned, looking at the older man in a confused manner. But it was not that Funk wanted to stop Austin from beating up Pillman, instead wanted to hand him a steel chair. Austin could only smile, take the chair and hit Pillman with it. The referee threw out the match but Austin and Funk ended it with a celebration.

The supposed ‘leak’ struck again. Untrue rumors began to appear in the wrestling news that Dusty had been removed from the booking team. The report alleged that Bischoff had made jokes about Dusty to several wrestlers too and cut down most of Dusty’s booking ideas. Dusty remained apathetic to these rumors, just sitting there in the meetings sipping his coffee as he had been doing for most of the month. Bischoff really hated this leak now, as it occupied most of his thinking and he qualified most of what he said to the Booking Team by saying, “Okay, now don’t leak this.”

Hulk Hogan made a few mistakes in his matches that not only hurt his popularity, but also his desire to have more frequent matches. When Bischoff suggested a short vacation, Hogan instead decided to lengthen it and took a leave of absence. In the meantime, The Misfits went from getting a reaction for how horrible they were to getting no reaction at all. The Hangman aka Terry Gordy asked for his release from his contract, even though very little was left on it. Sting then injured himself, landing on his leg wrong falling from the ring. Luckily, X-Rays were negative, however he risked his own health in wrestling through it. Lastly, the Great Muta’s mother died and he had to return to Japan for family business. These events really told the tale for the month: depressing.

Sting had been moving forward a tag-team storyline with Ricky Steamboat against Ric Flair and his partner, the evil Barry Windham. Windham acted like a cocky redneck, contrasted by four-color Sting and his positive attitude. Sting’s energy was sometimes over the top, which he would use to pump himself up with during matches, like Hogan had when he would ‘hulk’ up. It helped in the match at Havoc though, as he was turn the Figure Four over and make a comeback against Flair. Flair had been dominating the match until that point. However, Sting had to get medical attention backstage because of his injured leg. Everyone was concerned.

Halloween Havoc was not critically received and the arena was not even sold out for the event, the first time that had happened in a while. While WCW struggled, the WWF rode a wave of popularity and placed their event on the same day as Halloween Havoc, thus stealing some buys. This event was put over the top with hyped return of Kevin Von Erick to wrestling. In a WWF ring, they honored Kerry Von Erick, who died in 1993 and Kevin gave a speech. Vince McMahon was besting the master of surprises, Eric Bischoff. Afterward, some heels interrupted but Kevin disposed of them all and argued with them as they stood outside the ring menacingly. Vince McMahon then came out and proposed a one-time exhibition bout, which Kevin won over Kamala.

WCW Halloween Havoc 1995

Dark Match: Psicosis defeated Bones and Saturn

Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko defeated Eddie Guerrero & DDP

The Road Warriors defeated Midnight Express

Steve Austin defeated Brian Pillman w/ Mr. Hughes

The Queen’s Team (Lord Steven Regal + Squire Chris Adams) defeated Harlem Heat for the Tag-Titles

Mask vs. Hair match: Arn Anderson defeated The Skipper

The Giant defeated The Beast w/ Jimmy Hart

Sting & Ricky Steamboat defeated Ric Flair and Barry Windham

Bret Hart defeated Big Van Vader

WWF In Your House

Kevin Von Erick ceremony

Kevin Von Erick defeated Kamala

Pierre Oulette defeated Tatanka

The Natural James Townsend defeated the Model Rick Martel

Mr. Perfect defeated Mankind

Cataclysm (Tom Prichard + The Z-Man Tom Zenk) defeated Bob Backlund/Kevin Sullivan and Beefcake/Razor Ramon

Lex Luger defeated Ludvig Borga

The Ultimate Warrior defeated Hacksaw Jim Duggan by DQ

Bret Hart concluded his feud with Vader in controversial fashion. Vader dominated Hart in this one until the final few minutes, which Bischoff commented was realistic due to Vader’s size. Hart worked Vader’s legs and got the big man in the sharpshooter, but Sherri distracted the referee by jumping up on the ring apron. Bret Hart released the hold to go retrieve the referee. However, Vader was quickly after him. When Vader came over to grab Hart and surprise him as he was arguing with Sherri, she missed with a clubbing shoe and hit Vader instead. Bret Hart simply pushed the annoying Sherri off the ring apron and got the pinfall on Vader.

The WWF main event again featured the Ultimate Warrior, who turned heel earlier that night. It seemed to surprise fans, but the WWF was able to take those kind of chances now that they turned the corner. The Warrior accomplished this turn by beating up HBK and putting him out. Actually, it was a little less vicious and more revengeful, motivated by the Heartbreak Kid’s scathing promo questioning the company for giving the Warrior a title shot. Wrestling critics commented that this promo was not a shoot, although was clearly planned as such and established similar angles as cutting edge. WCW lagged behind in popular entertainment angles like this. The WWF would regain most of its popularity it had lost in 1993 by the end of October.

At the end of the month, Eric Bischoff sat alone in WCW’s offices contemplating things. Things like the dropping buyrates. Things like a WCW without Hulk Hogan. Things like Ted Turner’s deadline. The supposed leak that was haunting WCW. That was when Vince McMahon called.

Eric almost hung up on him, but then Vince said, “Eric, I heard that your boss told you to change things up. But it seems to me you’re not listening very well.”

Eric paused a moment, tried to think of a snappy comeback, then hung up on him. He tossed the phone across the room.

--

Edited by Nottavictim
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WCW Spotlight

"Welcome to the FINAL episode of WCW Spotlight. WCW Spotlight has attempted to bring you the latest about WCW wrestlers, to explain those details that might go unnoticed. WCW is going to bring you a brand new show to replace Spotlight, so look for it soon! Today we're in focus on the gimmicky wrestlers of WCW.

Top 5 most gimmicky wrestlers

5. Sting - Some fans have argued recently that Sting is a gimmicky wrestler and perhaps one of the more gimmicky main eventers. With his face paint and bright colored outifts, he embodies today's wrestler. Sting is known to change colors for each show, matching his face paint to his outfit.

4. Lord Steven Regal - Speaking of outfits, the more British and eccentric his outfit, the more Lord Steven Regal succeeds at his gimmick. Lord Steven Regal plays the uppity, arrogant British snob. He usually dresses like a British nobleman, with long coattails, high white socks and a belt with an annoyingly bright silver buckle. He used to wear a white wig, but only does so now on special occassions. He sometimes snaps off his gloves to smack his opponent upside the face with.

3. The Hangman Terry Gordy - The Hangman is the most gimmicky of The Executioners. He wears a black hood over his head, which hides his face but there are holes cut out for his eyes and mouth. His matching black robe is loose on his body and synched at the waist by a thick piece of brown rope. Hanging from this belt is a noose, from which he takes his name. He sometimes carries a sickle. Unfortunately, Terry Gordy asked for his release in October.

2. The Varsity Club - The Armstrong Brothers are the two most gimmicky wrestlers of the Varsity Club, a new stable that has developed in the past few months. They try to imitate the Steiner Brothers, another gimmicky athletic team. The Armstrongs however, wear orange varsity jackets with the letter A emblazoned on the back and seem to lack a university affiliation. Their ring attire is also colorful. Their shorts and ring wear are multi-colored, orange, red and black. The Armstrongs are led by The Skipper Ole Anderson and flanked by beautiful Tammy Lynn.

1. New Jersey Jim and Samu the Savage - Perhaps the most gimmicky wrestlers are the Misfits duo of Samu and New Jersey Jim because they exude their gimmick. Jim just looks like he could be from New Jersey, having ripped jeans, dirty ripped shirt and a tire iron. Jim also has a scruffy beard and never combs his ragged hair. Samu also looks the part, with his spotted black and yellow loincloth. He often claws at his opponents and makes menancing scowls, having amazing control over the muscles in his face.

Thanks for getting behind the scenes with WCW Spotlight!"

(Note: I hope everyone is enjoying the story of the wrestling business, even with its alternative structure. This post makes this diary my longest. I bent a few of my initial rules and have been including portions of promos, like from Ric Flair. I think this adds to the story and might consider more sometime. Lastly, these little episodes were supposed to be for a nice break between long, monthly posts. Spotlight explained what the wrestlers were all about, since you couldn't learn about them in the same way as traditional diaries.)

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Wrestling with Shadows - Eric Bischoff

"Welcome back to Wrestling with Shadows, the investigative show that looks deep into the latest issues in wrestling," says Peter Michaels, "And on today's show, we're looking at the head of WCW, Eric Bischoff. But is that role a privaledge or a curse? We answered that question when we went to interview Eric Bischoff this week, during Halloween Havoc."

The pictures shifts to a busy backstage area. Wrestlers are wandering back and forth, but wrestling staff seem even more busy. A backstage agent quickly adjusts his glasses as he fumbles with his clipboard, perhaps being a little too young for this hectic job. He squints at his notes and then smiles, pleased at what he reads. He looks up at Bret Hart, who stands there calmly. The young man smiles and says, "Here's the finish, I found it. You finish him off with a vicious clothesline off the ropes! Bam! Quick pin and then three count!"

Bret Hart merely turns his head and regards this man for a moment, then smirks a little, "It's a good start. But I don't think that's gonna work."

Eric Bischoff suddenly walks up to the duo and snatches the clipboard with a knowing smile, "Okay Mike! I got it from here! Thanks for taking over," he tells the young man.

As the young man sheepishly departs the scene, Eric Bischoff pats Bret Hart on the shoulder and smiles, "Ah, sorry about that Bret! Okay, let's fix this match, okay?"

The picture shifts again to Peter Michaels in the studio, who says, "Scenes like this happen daily. Eric Bischoff seems to stretch himself just enough to form the organized chaos into a WCW show. We were curious if Eric Bischoff ever stretches himself too thin or perhaps feels the pressure of so much responsibility. We later asked Eric about this."

Eric Bischoff is sitting with Peter Michaels in a more comfortable setting now, the plush offices of WCW. As Bischoff reclines, Michaels says, "Eric, fans see your shows as organized and thoroughly well-planned. Is this the case all the time?"

Bischoff smiles slightly and replies, "Well, I'll be honest, not all the time. A show can be easy to put together, but it's planning for the future that gets me. I suppose that's why we have a whole team of writers looking after these kinds of things."

Peter Michaels nods slowly and says, "Someone told us that your job is at risk if you don't consider those kinds of things, Eric. Someone has been talking to the press and even to Vince McMahon, voicing his concern. He's been leaking many things for a good while now and seems concerned you're not addressing them."

Bischoff tightens his jaw and begins fuming as he says, "Who told you that? Huh? Huh??"

"Why, he's here today, I'll let him tell you himself," Michaels says, "C'mon in...Ric Flair!" he announces.

Bischoff looks stunned and angry in a series of seconds, as Ric Flair calmly walks into the room. Flair walks around to a seat and looks across at Eric Bischoff, but only for a moment. Bischoff's piercing eyes perhaps are too much, but Peter Michaels breaks the tension with a question.

"Ric, you've been a leak for a lot of WCW rumors. Why did you choose to do that?" Michaels asks.

Just as Ric Flair opens his mouth to answer, Bischoff stands from his seat and exclaims, "You're fired, you piece of [beep]!"

Even Peter Michaels looks a bit taken aback by that outburst and clears his throat after Bischoff departs the room. Looking at the calm, composed Ric Flair, Michaels begins again, "I apologize, Ric--"

"No need," Ric Flair says, "I've seen guys a bit more upset than that. But not by much," he chuckles a little.

"Why did you decide to leak some information from WCW?" Michaels asks again.

"Let me tell you something, this guy is ruining the company," Ric Flair says frankly, "That's why. I'll just be honest. Oh sure, his ideas were great at first. Bring in a whole mess of WWF guys. Fill the whole place with WWF guys. ECW guys. Independent guys. He doesn't have any confidence in WCW guys. A WWF guy is holding our World Title for god's sake and got over by beating me."

"The fact of the matter is, you helped him get over," Peter Michaels says pointedly, "If you believed all of what you say, why did you even wrestle?"

"Listen, Ric Flair is loyal. I'm loyal to this company. I want to see it stay ahead of the WWF. It can, I'll tell you. But the way its going, it's gonna come crashing down with Eric Bischoff. I'm fired, you know what, so I don't care. I'm fired, I'll just say it. I got nothing to lose now."

"You certainly don't. Seems like you're out of a job," Michaels says.

"All I've wanted to do in my life is wrestle," Flair says slowly, "And I just tried to do two things. Leak a little of this, little of that, you know. Put a little pressure on Bischoff. And I tried to keep my job at the same time, so I could go out there and wrestle for the fans."

"Why did you decide to come here today?"

"It's just gotten out of hand. Those rumors didn't do a darn thing. I kept covering my ass while trying different rumors, but Bischoff just plowed through and ignored them. I found out that he even ignored Ted Turner. What's The Nature Boy gonna do if Bischoff won't even listen to Ted Turner?"

Peter Michaels nods and says, "It looks as if things might be decided by a power higher than either of you. But that's still to be seen."

The camera fades out on this conclusive statement and solemn scene. But it quickly fades in again as a camera tries to catch Eric Bischoff in his office, which he has now sought solitude in. Bischoff swipes papers off his desk and angrily flips over a briefcase. After this tirade, Bischoff slumps down into his swivel chair and depressingly looks at the floor. Eric catches sight of a picture laying there, of Eric Bischoff shaking the hand of Hulk Hogan.

In the picture, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan are in sunny Orlando, laughing and joking. Jesse Ventura grins next to them, displaying Hogan's contract while he has his hand patting Hogan's large shoulder. Several crew are filming the pleasant scene. Bischoff reaches down and picks up the picture, then tears it up. He catches sight of the camera then gets up suddenly, pushing it out the door. The door itself slams closed.

The scene fades in on Peter Michaels back in the studio as he says conclusively, "Eric Bischoff had no further comment to us about Ric Flair identifying himself as the leak in WCW. We learned today that Ric Flair is no longer with WCW. The future for this company looks grim."

---

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November 1995 - What are the consequences again?

The WCW backstage area was solemn and quiet upon hearing of Ric Flair’s release. No one wanted to upset Eric Bischoff further or get on his bad side, lest they be booked into a squash match. Eric Bischoff tossed out the plans for November and did not even meet with the Booking Team. He did most of the booking himself, except for the main event of the November pay per view, which he assigned to Dusty Rhodes and Stu Hart.

This main event was the BattleBowl match, from which the pay per view took its name. The BattleBowl match was a battle royale, but to qualify for it, a wrestler had to win a tag match with a random partner. The prize for winning the BattleBowl was a title shot at Starrcade. Thirty men were then narrowed to 15 over the course of the month, with only a few wrestlers exempt. Most of the champions were exempt, like World Champion Bret Hart and tag-champs, The Queen’s Team. Stu Hart was slow to action, perhaps a bit overwhelmed at booking a large tournament and battle royale both. Dusty Rhodes did not help. He just sat backstage quietly, all by himself.

Dusty Rhodes put little effort into his job because he was still depressed, until his son came to visit him backstage at WCW. Apparently, Bruce Hart had arranged the meeting. Dusty snapped back to his old self after having lunch with his son and even negotiated Dustin’s job back. Dusty was back to his old self in no time. Bischoff threw Dustin a bone a few times during the month, giving him a couple matches, but few wins. Stu Hart however, was able to slip in a feud for Dustin against Brian Pillman. But Steve Austin was what made this feud possible.

Austin was having a beer, giving his usual promo on Nitro, when he perked the crowd’s interest with a surprise. Austin said he ran into a man who loved WCW and wanted nothing more to come out, drink beer and kick ass. Simple as that. And with that, Austin introduced Dustin to a good reaction, but the reaction wouldn’t last. Brian Pillman and his burley bodyguard, Mr. Hughes, interrupted their beer celebration. Mr. Hughes was able to toss his weight around during the feud, trapping Austin in a two on one the next week on Nitro. Dustin Rhodes made the save again and gave Mr. Hughes a low blow, Ric Flair style. He then cut a promo while a cool Steve Austin looked on, challenging Brian Pillman to a match at BattleBowl.

The Booking Team did not expect two workers on the roster to get so over with the fans. They were the gimmicky tough guy and supernatural wrestler, Dr. Death and everybody’s favorite brawler, Ron Simmons. Simmons became so popular in a short feud with Davey Boy Smith that he was booked to win the US Title at BattleBowl. Critics were confused and speculated that Simmons’ character was approachable, that is, not an upper class man like Flair or an untouchable perfectionist like Bret Hart.

Over at the WWF, they pushed The Ultimate Warrior. The Ultimate Warrior had only wrestled six matches since being originally signed to the WWF, including one opening a new TV show called WWF Primetime. Some rumors began to speculate that The Warrior was holding out for money because of these rare appearances, but other critics argued that the Warrior was better used on the mic anyway. The promos on WWF Wrestling Challenge were successful because of the Warrior’s energy, and McMahon booked him with partners to complement his style. Together, they wrestled a survivor series match, which the Warrior’s team won.

Owen Hart was also seeking a win against Michael Wallstreet. Wallstreet had been doing very little since the departure of Bobby Eaton and was pleased to get a new feud, if only to keep him busy. The feud however, had some focus on Bret Hart too. When Owen Hart would need help or get ambused, he would later complain and whine to Bret Hart, just like old-school Owen from the WWF. However, this attitude was tempered by Terry Funk, playing the old, wise-man able to give Owen some advice. Michael Wallstreet came out once to say that he didn’t need any advice, because all he needed was money. That’s what the character was about, after all. In any case, after Funk lent his advice, Owen repaid the favor by saving him from an ambush. Terry Funk accompanied Owen to ringside when the youngster faced Michael Wallstreet.

Meanwhile, while Owen tried to find more singles independence, Bret Hart continued his dominance as WCW champion. He feuded with Rick Rude, accompanied by Sherri, who had joined Rude’s side after the departure of Ric Flair. However, unlike Flair, Rude was a bit more over-the-top with his self-promoting. He wouldn’t come out claiming to be the best in wrestling, instead saying that he was the best looking in wrestling. A big difference to Rude, it seemed. Rude did have the muscled physique, like many popular wrestlers in the business. It helped to have Sherri fawning over him too, but sometimes she would go overboard and toss her shoe or purse at an opponent. She also continued her rivalry with Miss Elizabeth, that had begun a month ago. During one Rude promo hyping his match, Sherri swiped the microphone and viciously cut into Elizabeth. Sherri said that Elizabeth was a no-good nitwit and a fake, as if Elizabeth was a little less innocent and proper than everyone believed.

The two went at it again at BattleBowl and it was apparent that Elizabeth was still steaming from the biting comments from Sherri. So much so, that when Sherri again threw her shoe at Bret Hart when he fell to the outside, Elizabeth jumped her. Joey Styles was not present to yell ‘cat fight’, but fight they did, pulling at hair and clothes. They began rolling on the outside and Sherri hit her head on the steel steps of the ring, knocking herself out. While Sherri sold that injury, the focus again shifted to the in-ring action. Unlike Vader, Rick Rude’s style was about precision and crispness, not about being stiff.

When the two began to chop each other across the chest the crowd went ‘woo’, summoning the spirit of Ric Flair. Fans had been wondering about Flair. He did not join the WWF in November, did not debut at some independent show and didn’t go to Japan. Flair sat at home for November, seemingly content with remaining out of the spotlight. He was so far out of the spotlight that little, if any, news or rumors emerged about him for a month. He did appear on a radio show however. Critics later commented that Flair sounded defeated, subdued somehow, as if his energetic persona had left him.

WCW BattleBowl 1995

Dustin Rhodes defeated Brian Pillman

Owen Hart defeated Michael Wallstreet

Ron Simmons defeated Davey Boy Smith for US Title

Midnight Express defeated The Queen’s Team for the WCW Tag-Titles

Bret Hart w/ Kimberly defeated Rick Rude w/ Sherri

Vader won the BattleBowl battle royale

For some reason, Bischoff pushed older, veteran wrestlers again in November. However, these older teams like the Midnight Express were getting a good reaction from fans. Perhaps it was because this particular team was new or brought a different kind of energy that elicited the good reaction. They certainly weren’t any older than other WCW teams, but it was their gimmick that was considered aged. Sweet Stan Lane particularly would get tired during longer matches, especially against stiffer opponents like the Road Warriors. He had not been in wrestling prior to his return the previous month. Regardless, The Midnight Express wanted to begin some new, winning ways and said so in a few brief promos. Fans wanted to see them beat The Queen’s Team for the titles at BattleBowl.

Vader gained momentum again to get a match against Bret Hart, which he claimed he deserved to get. However, Harley Race refused to book him against Bret Hart for the title, as Vader's previous two title matches earlier in the year had shown that he was not worthy of another. Vader then made it his personal mission to win the BattleBowl and claim that title shot, which he might never get otherwise. He qualified for the BattleBowl with Barry Windham, although Windham saw little action, as Vader dominated the match as his new, driven motivation prompted him to. Vader crushed both his opponents, Ricky Steamboat and Greg Valentine, who were not getting along to begin with. Vader was particularly brutal in this match, stomped on Steamboat’s hand, and there was blood when he legitimately busted open Greg Valentine on live television. It was live, so very little could be done about it, as several people backstage began to get alarmed and upset about Vader’s blatant violation of WCW’s “no-blood” policy. This policy was particularly annoying to hardcore wrestlers like Dr. Death, Terry Funk and Mick Foley, when he was with WCW. However, WCW had to be consistent, so gave Vader a small fine.

Ricky Steamboat had to get his left hand evaluated by a specialist thanks to Vader. Greg Valentine meanwhile, was taken off the air, as he required stitches and was in no condition to compete. Perhaps a lecture would have been the appropriate approach to Vader, but none was given. Thankfully, Vader did not focus on one or two people during the BattleBowl, so most thought they were safe from injury during this battle royale. However, Vader was notoriously stiff regardless of whether it was a tag-match or battle royale. His crossface moves were especially stiff, as Mick Foley likes to tell people. In that move, Vader would crouch over a fallen opponent, raise their head and then whip his fist and arm across their face. In some cases, Vader would break noses or cause bleeding.

Vader thought this type of style was not uncalled for. Wrestling was hazardous, after all. It was also just how he was and his character seemed to benefit from these harsh moves, as fans loved to boo him for his viciousness. After BattleBowl, WCW reconsidered their “no-blood” policy as Billy Gunn had bladed himself during a match against Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan was another wrestler who wrestled stiff or had developed that reputation. Gunn bled more than Valentine had and gave fans pause. They seemed to actually like or pay more attention when blood was involved, giving rise to WCW reconsidering their policy. However, WCW did not want to consider itself like the WWF, who had begun running more adult angles. Eric Bischoff wondered why WCW always had that conservative or family mindset, which sometimes put the company at a disadvantage when recently they were competing against more edgy companies like ECW.

ECW was gaining momentum, having done so by changing to an “extreme” style that they were already doing partially as Eastern Championship Wrestling. They now just did it all the time, at every show. Sabu was the main draw for this type of style, as was a wrestler called The Sandman. Other competitors actually wrestled, such as Jerry Lynn, which the fans enjoyed. ECW began to acquire the help of Marc Mero and Brian Knobbs for a short time, getting mainstream attention, as well. Taz finally beat Kevin Nash for the World Title at the November to Remember, giving ECW the biggest payoff yet. This progress showed that ECW was doing everything right.

In contrast, WCW still pulled in a good buyrate for BattleBowl, but in comparison to the WWF, it was not a homerun. After BattleBowl, Ted Turner personally called Eric Bischoff, not sending any messenger boy this time. Bischoff was understandably surprised, because in three years of operation, he had never gotten a call from Ted Turner. As a matter of fact, Ted Turner taking an interest in WCW was quite unusual, much less comments twice in two months from the big boss. Turner said that he heard about Vince McMahon’s brief phone call and Bischoff suddenly understood that it was a personal matter. Turner had never liked McMahon and his relaxed business style. He would do whatever is necessary to gain an advantage against McMahon. He expressed this to Bischoff and added that he was slipping him extra funds to widen the gap. Turner reminded Bischoff that what Bischoff did with that money what was mattered, as he had been told little had changed. Bischoff fumed at this.

On the other hand, McMahon had taken advantage and used his younger roster skillfully. A frustrated Bischoff seized the opportunity to voice his concerns to Turner, arguing that the Bischoff way, the veteran way, had earned WCW a healthy profit. Not a push of youngsters. Turner was said to not be very understanding of Bischoff’s “excuses” but this time, informed Bischoff of the consequences. Whereas he hadn’t through Scott Sassa, Turner now made himself crystal clear. If Bischoff didn’t do what he was asked to do, he was going to be fired.

---

Edited by Nottavictim
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Wrestling with Shadows - Terry Funk

“Welcome back to Wrestling with Shadows, the investigative show that delves deep into the latest issues in pro wrestling,” Peter Michaels says, “And on today’s show we look at a man who has been in the business since late 1965. We visited this man, Terry Funk, as he was competing as a fulltime wrestler for World Championship Wrestling. He has told us that lately, he has been reconsidering this schedule.”

The screen changes and fades in on a nondescript locker room, where wrestlers mingle about as they prepare for a match or unwind after wrestling. Terry Funk is attempting to unwind as he walks into the picture minutes after a match, walking very gingerly to a bench. He sits down and looks totally spent, bending forward. His face contracts with the deep frown of pain and a hand goes to his lower back.

“Terry, how do you feel?” Peter Michaels asks as he approaches Funk.

With a gruff smirk, Funk rubs his back and says, “Like hell, pal. Mah back is killing me. I think I took a bump wrong. On second thought, maybe the bump took me wrong.”

“Where did you take the bump?”

“Backdropped onto concrete. That stuff don’t give,” he says with a hint of amusement.

“Do you always feel this much pain after a match?”

“Not always,” Funk lets out with a sigh, “Really it’s not the matches, it’s the mileage.”

Peter Michaels nods and asks, “Why did you tell us that it might be time to leave WCW?”

Terry Funk begins removing the tape from his fists and says, “It’s my family. My family doesn’t want me to wrestle anymore. I think I got a few more years in me but you know, I said that a few years ago. Those few years turn into a few more and every time I tell my family this is the last one, somethin‘ always comes up.”

“Why do you continue to do it?”

“There’s young guys who deserve some kind of rub, you know? They aren't gonna do much with an old guy like me anyways, least ah can do.”

The picture changes to a recent Terry Funk match with Brian Pillman. Funk is taking most of the abuse. Pillman kicks him in the midsection and after Funk backs against the ropes, Pillman clotheslines him to the outside. Funk tumbles over the ropes dangerously, his shoulder hits the apron then his body collides with the floor mat with a loud thump.

Funk and Pillman fight on the outside as Peter Michaels narrates, “Terry Funk just turned 51 in June. Almost everyone around Terry seems not to know if his career is running to a conclusion or not. His birthday was attended by everyone in the Funk family.”

Back in the match, Brian Pillman distracts the referee as Mr. Hughes takes a steel chair and whaps Funk with it stiffly. Funk backs against the apron and Mr. Hughes whaps Funk again over the head. Funk collapses.

“Happy birthday Terry!” a dark haired man says with a grin.

The picture fades in on a smiling Terry Funk, who sits at his kitchen table surrounded by dozens of his friends, family and grandchildren. One young boy smiles and tells Terry to blow out his candles. A woman claps and smiles excitedly.

“Oh, guess I gotta blow out the candles eh?” Funk says amusedly, then leans forward and blows out the candles.

“Yeah grandpa! Cut the cake!” the boy says.

The screen cuts back to Peter Michaels in the studio and he says, “WCW had no comment about the status of Terry Funk, but we did talk to them off the record. Apparently, as long as Terry Funk wanted to wrestle, they had no problem letting him.”

The screen cuts from this conclusive statement back to highlights of another recent match with Vader. Vader slings Funk around like a ragdoll, propelling him into the corner. Funk collides with the turnbuckle violently and collapses on the ground holding his back. Vader comes over and stands him up against the turnbuckle, then stiffly punches Funk in the face, at least five times. Vader repeatedly whips his forearm across Funk’s face and then clotheslines him. Funk collapses and some blood can be seen trickling from his nose. Vader covers him but Funk kicks out.

Peter Michaels narrates, “Terry Funk did not comment on retirement. Saying he has a love for the wrestling business might be an understatement, but his family have an even greater love for his safety. It may be a deciding factor in the months to come.”

--

Edited by Nottavictim
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December 1995 - End of the Line

December began with Eric Bischoff organizing WCW in lieu of the demands put upon him. Bischoff job was such a stressful position that the media began to speculate about a breakdown, drug use, or both. Bischoff did quiet his associations with other people, but had little time for drugs or a breakdown. He first dumped most of the Mexicans and cruiserweights, moving some of them to Georgia Wrestling, particularly Rey Mysterio and Pyscosis. He next took calls from Georgia Wrestling and asked for volunteers to go down there to evaluate talent.

Jim Cornette volunteered to help Jesse Ventura and the Armstrong Family at Georgia Wrestling. Or rather, Jim Cornette volunteered to rescue Georgia Wrestling. Prior to Cornette’s arrival, Georgia Wrestling was not exactly breaking records for wrestling workrate. In the main event of their large show, The Mountie captured the Heavyweight Title against Roland McQueen. If you’re curious who Roland McQueen is, well so was everyone else. A backstage pool started in WCW about McQueen and how long he would last before Cornette saw the situation and punted him down the card or issued a release. McQueen was actually one of the better workers at Georgia Wrestling, but had not earned a victory. People called him the “Main Event Jobber,” if such a push existed.

Eric Bischoff then organized WCW’s feuds, many of which carried over from the previous month. The Giant was still battling The Misfits, but now fought all of its members, almost weekly. He defeated New Jersey Jim and Samu the Savage on successive Nitros, but then Jimmy Hart ambushed him and ordered all of his wrestlers to rush the ring and attack The Giant. All of them piled on, with the massive Beast collapsing on top of the pile. Like a superhero, The Giant busted up out of the massive heap and tossed all of them out of the ring one by one. The Giant then motioned them to bring it on. Well, that’s when the malicious Harley Race interrupted. Race said that if The Giant wanted action so much, he would enjoy his match at Starrcade. He was going to face BOTH New Jersey Jim and Samu the Savage in a handicap match. No word on where The Beast went, but apparently his appearances were cut.

Unfortunately, The Giant’s feud was relegated to an opener at most shows and at Starrcade. Except for the pile-on segment, nothing else was noteable about the feud. The matches were below average and the reaction was below average. It was certainly a below average couple of months for The Giant, who was put up against The Misfits to try to accomplish the opposite. These green wrestlers did make The Giant look like a good worker, if it was any consolation to him. Before Starrcade, Bischoff made a promise to the big man that he would move on to other things, a promise he made to other wrestlers too.

Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko had faced off several times during the year, crafting some great matches. But together, they seemed to continue to elicit a great reaction as a team. That’s when Michael Wallstreet bought the services of Barry Windham and together, they both put Dean Malenko through a table. WCW did not often use props in this way, but it seemed appropriate to the stiff, high-energy level that often was associated with Benoit. Chris Benoit made it his mission to even the score, but had to dodge Michael Wallstreet’s money first. Wallstreet even tried to run down Benoit in an expensive car, but the technician swiftly dove aside. Chris Benoit’s promo the following week was irate, as expected. After he demolished Barry Windham later that night, he wanted to go straight to the source at Starrcade.

Eddie Guerrero and Diamond Dallas Page split, ending their friendship in a storyline that built toward Starrcade. Ironically, the two had worked their way onto the card wrestling together, not each other. Eddie Guerrero played the cocky heel, while DDP played a more sympathetic role and the two actually headlined WCW WorldWide once against each other. They had said on Nitro that they couldn't want to wait until Starrcade. It raised ratings, at least. Long after the messy match ended in a no contest, Eddie Guerrero continued to beat on DDP. He went up to deliver his pattened frog splash, but Kimberly rushed in and threw herself on DDP. Guerrero frowned as Kimberly asked for mercy, which only made him smirk. He jumped from the top turnbuckle and actually viciously dropkicked Kimberly, tumbling her across the ring. DDP staggered up, but Guerrero threw him from the ring and he went back to the top rope. Some people were throwing trash at Guerrero as he viciiously smiled in anticipation of what came next. He hit the frog splash on Kimberly. If they wanted mercy, Guerrero picked up a mic and said they should have stayed in the back.

DDP couldn’t possibly wait for next Nitro to confront Guerrero, tearing up the locker room in search for him. Meanwhile, Kimberly was carted out by medics, intensifying the feud. The following week, Guerrero played up the cowardly heel angle, but his evading only made him laugh at his cleverness and think himself even smarter than DDP. Guerrero however, was the one to scurry for his life when DDP interrupted his match against Terry Funk. A face run-down attack was rarely done, but WCW did it anyway. Funk merely peered at the melee from the outside and grabbed Guerrero when he tried to escape, tossing him back in the ring to get what he deserved. DDP would have to wait until Starrcade however, as Guerrero even escaped this, scurrying out the other side of the ring to the ramp.

Another person who probably should have scurried away, was Brian Pillman. During one promo, he insulted Steve Austin, ran him down and called him all the names he could think of. He even dumped out a beer without drinking it, a serious offense, it seemed. Austin then interrupted and then in a cool manner, took a mic, asked for a moment of Pillman’s time and then when Pillman turned toward him, gave him a stunner in the ring.

However, the real challenge for Austin was going to be Mr. Hughes. Hughes had obviously failed to defend Pillman in their original confrontation, but traded backstage brawls with Austin. It was the messiest fight to date by far, as Hughes possessed that Terry Funk ability to take punishment and keep coming. Austin once hit him with a steel chair three times, dropping the big man, but he amazingly got up again. A fourth time crumpled the big man and even Austin seemed impressed by the pain tolerance.

The everyman Ron Simmons continued the revel in his newfound popularity, exceeding his previous WCW push by far. Dr. Death was also FINALLY getting over with the fans, as stated in the previous month. However, in November, Dr. Death was not given a PPV match. In December, he was and it was against Ron Simmons. The two men were popular apart, so Eric Bischoff figured that they might be even better together. Unfortunately, Dr. Death again pushed for a hardcore match, as he had earlier in the year. Back then, Eric Bischoff was solidly against it and denied his request immediately, but being in his current state of mind, couldn’t care less. Dr. Death faced Ron Simmons for the US Title in a hardcore match at Starrcade, but Ron Simmons hadn’t wrestled hardcore in a long time. These two strikes against the feud was a bad sign. They muddled through at Starrcade, where the weapon shots were at least stiff enough to get a good reaction.

Rick Rude was also put at a disadvantage, as Sherri legitimately became annoying. Rude did not say anything at the time, but perhaps would have said something to his friend Ric Flair, the positive locker room voice. Rude dreaded each and every promo he had to give, as Sherri would sometimes go over the top in her reactions, make faces at the camera and go off on a tirade more times than he could count. Rude was paired against Sting and felt bad, as he was putting on good matches, as feuding with Sting was an honor. But it was just everything else associated with Sherri that was not as good. Rude once walked out to the ring without Sherri, purposely leaving her behind and caused her to blowup after he returned. Sting tried to be a peacemaker, but Rude had a blowup himself, saying that he was leaving WCW because of her. After Starrcade, he said he was going to pack his bags, clear his locker and tell Sherri to go jump off a bridge. Preferably, a tall bridge. It actually made him feel better to cut his losses and get that off his chest.

Vader had earned his title match at Starrcade and there wasn’t much else for him to say. He was the quiet stalker, regaining some patience after such a reckless November. Vader seemed like he was on a quest to regain the title, but Bret Hart was named the favorite for their match by Mike Tenay. Vader then came out and manhandled Tenay, questioning this prediction. He then informed Tenay that the match had been made a steel cage match and he wasn’t going to be responsible for Bret Hart’s head colliding with the steel wall. Multiple times.

Starrcade 1995

Handicap Match: The Giant defeated New Jersey Jim & The Savage Samu

Eddie Guerrero defeated DDP

Harlem Heat defeated The Queen’s Team

Chris Benoit defeated Michael Wallstreet w/ Barry Windham

Ron Simmons defeated Dr. Death w/ Bones

The Midnight Express defeated The Road Warriors by DQ

Steve Austin defeated Mr. Hughes w/ Brian Pillman

Sting defeated Rick Rude w/ Sherri

Steel Cage: Bret Hart w/ Elizabeth defeated Big Van Vader

The WWF extended its large monthly show to three hours, headlined once again by The Ultimate Warrior. This time, every fan wanted to see the heel Warrior get beat by Hacksaw Jim Duggan and that he did. The Warrior was pinned for the first time since his arrival in the WWF, contrasting his original face run in the company. Many doubted the Ultimate Warrior could work heel, but with his over the top expressions and insults, he accomplished it. Also at the show, Fatu regained the intercontinental title and continued his feud with the New Clique, including Shawn Michaels. In fact, the best match of the night was Fatu against Michaels, while The Warrior’s match was only ten minutes. The match had to be short, else it would have stunk up the joint. When the receipts came in, the WWF sold out 20,000 seats, while WCW did not.

A little over 18,000 people attended Starrcade in Charlotte, North Carolina. Without Ric Flair advertised, this was low for the company. But buys well exceeded the WWF, as they had most of the year, but the gap hadn't shrunk or widened. The next day was not the best day for the company. They had lost Rick Rude and some other wrestlers also quit. Upon hearing of whiney Rick Rude’s attitude, Sherri left and quit WCW, later being bought out. Ricky Steamboat also left WCW, saying that he hated the locker room and had been a notorious latecomer for that reason. Terry Funk also left WCW quietly when he asked for a buyout of his contract. Then Eric Bischoff got a call.

The call was from a secretary, who said that Ted Turner wanted to inform Bischoff that he was terminated from WCW, effective immediately. Bischoff later commented that Turner did not even have the guts to call him personally. He left WCW quietly, paying no one respects. If that was any hint, Turner’s expectations had not been met. Young wrestlers had not been pushed or not pushed enough. Even Steve Austin, who had become more popular than any of the youngsters, was stuck wrestling a 350 pound guy at Starrcade.

At the end of the year party, the remaining members of WCW seemed depressed or glum. Everyone was curious who was going to be the new president of WCW. Perhaps it would be Scott Sassa, who had become successful in Turner’s entertainment division. Or maybe Jim Herd would return, to everyone’s chagrin. Of course, some people may have deserved a promotion, like Tony Schiavone or Stu Hart.

The job went to someone unexpected, but not inexperienced. After interviews with Ted Turner himself, he was most impressed with the interview given by Greg Gagne. Gagne had never been a remarkable wrestler, nor a charismatic personality. However, he was somehow win over the big boss and remarkable businessman. What he told Ted Turner was not revealed when Gagne walked into the WCW offices and this became one of wrestling’s mysteries. Several people would investigate this mystery, including Jim Cornette.

Meanwhile, Gagne had one look at all of Eric Bischoff’s notes, paperwork, and other documents, then wondered how that man ever got anything done. He assigned tasks to each of the Booking Team, promoted Tony Schiavone to a road agent and then did an assorted number of other things. He had made a call and it was returned on his first day in WCW, when they were packing up in Charlotte, North Carolina. Apparently, he was in the area.

”Woo!”

Ric Flair was back.

--

Edited by Nottavictim
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Man, I spent yesterday reading this, And I gotta say, This is one of the best diaries going on right now. I enjoyed the little spotlight specials, And wish you could still do them, They were a good way to know who's who. What I'm really enjoying is Bischoff trying to find out who the leak was (well, Bischoff got canned, so we might not know). I also loved the part with Herd coming in and giving everyone some shitty gimmicks. You also kept this realistic, As far as the main event scene goes, With guys from the WWF coming in and getting killed by Hogan. Keep up the great work, I'll be reading. (Y)

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Wrestling with Shadows - Ric Flair a Leak?

"Woo! I'm the greatest athlete alive today! And all you people know it, you /know/ it," Ric Flair says, "I'm about to walk down that aisle and win the World Title and there's nothing Bret Hart can do about it. Nothing! And I think that just makes you mad Bret Hart, because you know...you just /know/...that the Nat-ure Boy Ric Flair will do whatever it takes to become the next...World...Champion! Woo!"

After cutting away from that brief Nitro promo, Peter Michaels comes on screen, "Welcome back to Wrestling with Shadows, the investigative show that looks deep into the latest issues of wrestling," he says slowly, "And on today's show, we're looking at Ric Flair or rather, what's ahead for Ric Flair now that he is back with World Championship Wrestling. Greg Gagne was kind enough to give us a few comments about Ric Flair when we visited him."

The picture fades in on Greg Gagne, dressed casually. Peter Michaels sits across from him in the plush WCW offices, "Thanks for joining us today, Greg. I have several questions for you, but I'm sure many fans want to know just why you re-hired Ric Flair. Didn't he say that he was the leak?"

Greg Gagne shifts a little in his seat and says, "Well, that's why Eric Bischoff fired him, but fans just want to see Ric Flair. People want to watch him wrestle. People want to listen to his promos. So why not give the fans what they want? That's what I'm all about, Peter."

"I understand. Will fans really be receptive to a man shrouded in so much contraversy?" he asks.

Gagne nods, "Well, when I called him we talked about that very thing. You know, I told Ric that I was surprised that such an upstanding guy could leak anything, much less some silly rumors about wrestling. It seemed petty. And I've never considered Ric Flair petty."

"What did he tell you?"

"He said he wasn't the leak in WCW and that he told Eric Bischoff he was to cover for someone else," Gagne said.

"Who really is the leak?"

"He wouldn't say, only that the leak wasn't really a concern anymore."

"Well, hopefully fans will believe that explanation. What else do fans want? Do fans want Hulk Hogan? Or Mean Mark? Or maybe someone new?"

"That's pretty much what I talked about with Ted Turner. And I think he was impressed with my answers."

"Really I've never seen you so confident," Peter Michaels says, "Will you let us in on these answers?"

Gagne chuckles amusedly and shakes his head, "No no, you'll just have to wait and watch Nitro. Sorry."

The screen cuts away from this interview to a picture of Ric Flair. He stands at his old locker, stocking it with things from a blue bag that sits at his feet. He stocks it slowly, looking sullen and sluggish. When the camera pans around to get a better shot, Flair smirks and then smiles politely at the camera.

"Ric, I think everyone wants to know who the leak is in WCW. Who are you covering for?" Peter Michaels asks him.

"Oh, Gagne spilled the beans, eh?" Flair chuckles a little, "Listen, that's all over with. We got a new start going here. Look, I feel like I'm ready for it. Gagne is making changes, the booking team is making changes, it's gonna be a great year. There's not going to be any rumors."

"Are you going to be part of the booking team again?"

"I really have no right to ask for my old job. So no, I don't think so. I'm going to focus on other things. If they need me, they can talk to me," Flair answers directly.

Suddenly, a tall man comes into the picture. It's Hulk Hogan. Hogan puts his hand on Flair's shoulder and then smiles, saying a brief hello. Hogan wears a yellow t-shirt that reads 'Hulkamania' in red letters. He also has on a matching yellow cap that reads the same.

Ric Flair frowns a little and looks surprised as he turns around to meet Hogan. Flair immediately hides his shock and mellows, smiling politely to Hogan and gives him a handshake, darting a glance at the invading camera. The handshake pauses as the two men obviously share a serious stare, with hidden meaning.

The camera zooms in on his unexpected meeting and lengthy handshake, then fades out.

Peter Michaels resumes speaking from the studio as the camera fades in on him, "We were obviously curious about this brief meeting and what it meant. Unfortunately, we were unable to learn anything more, however it was obvious to me that there is conflict between Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan. And not just because both men are stars or have egos, there is something else there. We will keep our eye on this situation as it develops"

--

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Scouting with Cornette - At Georgia Wrestling

"Jim Cornette is one of the highest rated scouts in wrestling today. Each and every week he is going to bring us the latest scouting reports about wrestlers in WCW," a narrator says, "Who is who? How do they wrestle? What kind of character do they have? Those questions and more will be answered by Jim Cornette. Now...here he is...Jim Cornette!"

"Today I'm looking at wrestlers that are in training down in Georgia Wrestling. Perhaps they will be back up soon in WCW, but only if they work hard," Cornette says.

"Mean Mark. This guy has been through hell and I'm not afraid to say it. He can't use the most successful gimmick he's ever had because he might get sued, and recently WCW has been searching for a new one. Really he's just a bad-ass. Simple as that. Maybe that should be his gimmick?"

"Chris Candido. This youngster has wrestled all over the United States, but mostly on the east coast. His wife, Tammy Synch, was hired by WCW a while back and she keeps telling us how great he is. And he certainly is a hard worker, if nothing else. But he plays an arrogant character best and seems to have an edge like Chris Benoit. I think he's on the fast track to the main roster."

"Shogan. Jinsei Shinzaki is a great technician and wrestler. He boosts the workrate every single time he's in the ring. His look is unique too. He's got tattoos all over his damn body and he doesn't hide them anymore. We want to see these tattoos. They tell us that he's a badass and he's not afraid to endure pain, like the pain of all those tattoos. WCW has named him Shogun, making him a traditional Japanese warrior. We've taken that a step further in Georgia Wrestling when Mister Fuji was signed. Mister Fuji was able to carry Shogan on the mic and deliver that extra little bit he was missing. Fuji is also great at ringside."

"Bones. Mister Bones is Jimmy Garvin, a veteran of the ring. His gimmick is...well, it's a supernatural one that was supposed to match up with Dr. Death Steve Williams. At Georgia Wrestling, we've been working with Garvin on improving his look, giving him different props to try, like a hood or a dark robe. Never say Garvin doesn't do what's expected, because he'll go over-the-top to make Bones a fearsome voodoo expert."

"The Patriot. The Patriot is Del Wilkes, another veteran. His All-American gimmick gets over every time. He wears a colorful mask and carries the American flag with him to the ring. Really all his work is already done for him by the US of A and people love the US of A. He can also play the underdog role really well, as nobody wants to see a heel beating a patriot. At Georgia Wrestling, he's been working on his ring work."

"Mr. Hughes. A mainstay sidekick character and Curtis Hughes plays it well, I think. His size seems to be his biggest advantage and he focuses on power moves in the ring, like Davey Boy Smith. Teaming up with Brian Pillman lately has helped him develop and also get a brief feud with Steve Austin. He usually wears dark sunglasses and a scowl. He was only briefly with Georgia Wrestling to work on his technique, but is back with the main roster again."

"Thanks for joining us today for Scouting with Cornette. You'll be seeing these wrestlers again soon!"

--

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January 1996 - Gagne takes the Reigns

Greg Gagne is a nice guy. Some would say he’s too nice of a guy, hence putting an extra disadvantage on himself. Since the job of organizing WCW was hard enough, there was no need for Gagne to be at a disadvantage from the outset. Still, he made many of the hard changes, but left their actual implementation to Tony Schiavone, the cutthroat. Yes, Tony Schiavone, the cutthroat. When he would carry out Gagne’s orders, Schiavone would never get any spots on his record because he would dismiss a wrestler or implement a storyline with so much class that it was hard to get upset at him. One wouldn’t think Schiavone was capable of such a stressful job, as he was so casual in the booth, but the wrestlers soon learned that appearances were deceiving. He was a success right from the start at his job.

The first casualty of Gagne’s changes were the Misfits. This stable really had been given every chance to succeed, but seemed to be slipping down the card with every failure. The Beast was the biggest failure of the group. His only bright spot was when he had a good match with Chris Benoit a few months back, else he was tripping over himself, missing moves and generally looking green. However, WCW didn’t have the money to develop such a man, so he was released. New Jersey Jim was released as well, and he rejoined ECW immediately as his old moniker, Balls Mahoney. The only one serviceable was Samu the Savage and he was sent down to Georgia Wrestling where Jim Cornette would hopefully work his magic on him.

Secondly, the midcard was reorganized. Greg Valentine was released as it seemed his age was beginning to catch up with him. Valentine went home and was not heard from in January, all news of the former Hammer disappearing to nothing. Elizabeth was surprisingly also released, leading some critics to argue that she was brought aboard to lure in Randy Savage. This rumor began when Elizabeth was originally signed but Randy Savage seemed to snub WCW at every opportunity, especially being so solidly involved in the WWF storylines. Both Bones (Jimmy Garvin) and Tracy Smothers joined Georgia Wrestling, making way for some youngsters.

The reasoning for bringing up or signing several younger wrestlers over veterans was a philosophical one. Gagne was certainly more flexible in this area than Eric Bischoff. The first two youngsters to seriously get over were named Mark Bagwell and Sean Waltman. Waltman had once been part of the WCW before, but had since gone his separate ways with his good buddy Kevin Nash, whom he teamed with. Waltman decided to try his luck again in WCW at the last moment. Mark and Sean were paired together and given the time during matches to get over, something Bischoff had not given the original Clique. For example, the infamous five minute Dustin Rhodes match last year was always the best example of Eric Bischoff’s determination to put veterans over youngsters, no matter what the outcome. The Clique's matches were also very short.

Mark Bagwell was given an interesting gimmick, close to being a Jim Herd candidate for being notorious. However, whereas someone else might have looked upon it like a curse, Bagwell played it with so much humor that he was successful. Bagwell was the ‘fake Shawn Michaels’. Literally, Bagwell dressed up in a bad wig and tear off pants in a gimmicky imitation of the WWF main eventer. It was hilarious. Bagwell’s name was Sean Michaels, changing his first name to 'Sean' not Shawn, to protect against lawsuits. The two Seans were a good heel group, being arrogant and cocky at every opportunity. They tossed opponents to the outside to frustrate them, stomped on hands or feet and generally upped the energy of matches.

Some other workers were given minor changes to try to lend them that energy too. Jinsei Shinzaki, the Japanese Shogun, was brought back to the main roster but his change was that he was given Mister Fuji as a manager. There’s simply no one else in wrestling better to get an oriental worker over than Mister Fuji. Fuji now wore a Japanese kimono, a black and white checkered robe which was exceptionally done. Gone was the suit, tie and black hat. Dustin Rhodes was also given a manager, his wife Terri Runnels. For the first time, Dustin was inspired to change his character thanks to Terri. His previous gimmick was a Texas cowboy, but to distance himself from Dusty Rhodes, he became the perverted musical genius Amadeus. Again, appearances were deceiving, as one would never figure Dustin Rhodes, the wholesome son of Dusty, was capable being a pervert. But nonetheless, he would get out there with his white wig and short pants, then make Terri bend over and spank her.

Before moving on, a word has to be said about Ric Flair, the hot topic of January. Certainly everyone figured he was the “leak” in WCW when he just came out and said so on the TV show, Wrestling with Shadows. However, he later retracted this confession and confused everyone. Was he the leak or not? As Gagne had reasoned, Flair was too classy to be spreading juvenile rumors and leaking information to the press like a politician. Flair wasn’t a politician and couldn't have done it. Flair was a WCW man and took everything he was given in stride, even more so than anyone on the roster, even Ricky Steamboat. His friend Ricky Steamboat had left WCW in December, so was left no reoccurring rivalry. However, Ric Flair was expected to wrestle no one but Bret Hart.

The calls came out of the woodwork once news of the reorganized roster was leaked to the public. Everyone and their brother was calling Greg Gagne. Praise the man’s patience. In any case, the only one brought back was Hulk Hogan, as the two of them somehow got along excellently. Hogan actually returned on Ric Flair’s episode of Wrestling with Shadows, but did not return to the ring a few weeks after that. They just had to hype the return. WCW even brought in someone special to add to the return, which was now an “event.” They brought in Rowdy Roddy Piper. Piper interviewed the returning Hogan on his new talk show segment, which of course, fans ate up. But then Vader and Barry Windham both interrupted. Windham began his comments by throwing insults at Hogan in a lengthy diatribe, but couldn’t hold Vader back when Piper cussed him out during a retort. All four men brawled as the show went to commercial.

A few more changes were done later in the month. Owen Hart returned to his original, annoying heel character and there was much rejoicing. This was even further complemented by the fact that he feuded with Steve Austin. It was easy to get over against Austin, the more annoying the heel, the easier it was. Austin had this way of getting his opponent’s over merely by his reaction to their comments, with a knowing smirk or a dark glare. When he delivered a stunner, fans knew that this heel was getting under Austin’s skin and Owen Hart twice got a stunner. Quite an accomplishment.

Seriously contrasting this was the face turn of Davey Boy Smith. He became an all-american hero, or rather an all-british hero. He saved The Giant from an attack by multiple wrestlers, including Michael Wallstreet. Although Wallstreet was perhaps getting the better of the brawl, Davey Boy ended it by clearing the ring, tossing out people left and right. The turn was successful, but Davey Boy was moved from interacting in The Giant’s feud to his own, although it was clearly on slow build. His opponents were an old guy and a new guy. The old guy was Dr. Death Steve Williams, who was the veteran, and the new guy was Street-fighter Scott Norton. WCW finally thought they had found a tough, stiff wrestler to match with Steve Williams. Gimmicks aside, they did match in style and were equal to Davey Boy’s challenge.

The British Bulldog then had to get a partner to help him at the Clash of the Champions to even the odds against these two foes. During Nitro, Davey Boy took the mic and said that he wanted his partner to be honorable and a man he could depend on, but also one of national pride, like him. There was nothing more to say as someone interrupted, to show Davey Boy Smith a partner with real national pride. The Patriot, the living USA gimmick, joined Davey Boy in the ring and shook his hand. They traded flags and seemed to trade respect as well, as the Allied Powers.

The Allied Powers took on both Scott Norton and Dr. Death at Clash of the Champions at the end of the month, but were surprisingly defeated. Dr. Death had a sadistic smile and lived up to his name, using a submission game that seemed to put his opponents off theirs. Davey Boy was forced out of the ring when the referee didn’t see a tag and this seriously put The Patriot at a disadvantage. Britain and America literally stared each other down after The Patriot was pinned, but Dr. Death tried to sneak attack them with a kendo stick. Both superpowers cleared the ring and celebrated with flag waving.

Another multiple man feud began with the formation of the Triple Alliance. This small stable was a powerful combination of Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit and Saturn. All three men had been partners sporadically throughout 1995, so it came as little surprise to anyone that they would watch each others backs fulltime. Chris Benoit actually cut a promo to mark the formation of this stable, a man not known for his microphone work. He played it intensely, demanding Brian Pillman come out to face him because he was going to tell him to his face what a piece of you know what he was. They beeped the you know what. Brian Pillman had cheated to win a match against Benoit earlier in the night and cackled in his usual fashion when he answered the challenge. As he walked down to the ring, Pillman brought with him not one friend to watch his back, but two. The two Seans had joined him and rushed the ring. The energy level shot up immediately on Nitro and the teams brawled, but not to a commercial. The show actually kept on the brawl until multiple people from the locker room had to run out to separate these men. The two Seans actually began to symbolize chaos in WCW, doing just about whatever they could to cause it or trip off a brawl.

Diamond Dallas Page, Arn Anderson, Ron Simmons and others tried to separate these men. Pillman was like a crazy man, throwing off those restraining him to try to kick at Chris Benoit. But Mister Hughes was able to drag him off and calm him down with a stare, tempered with a friendly pat on the back. The collision of these six superstars was perhaps the attraction of the pay per view, overshadowing even the main event. Certainly it overshadowed Hulk Hogan’s tag-match workrate and Roddy Piper’s reaction.

Clash of the Champions - January 1995

Dark Match: Ron Simmons defeated Lord Steven Regal

Dr. Death & Scott Norton defeated The Allied Powers

The Giant defeated Michael Wallstreet by DQ

The Road Warriors defeated The Midnight Express to win the WCW Tag Titles

Steve Austin defeated Owen Hart

Hulk Hogan & Sting defeated Vader & Barry Windham

6-Man Elimination: Sean Michael, Sean Waltman, Brian Pillman defeated the Triple Alliance

Bret Hart defeated Ric Flair

Fans were a little less inspired by the Steve Austin feud this time, as Greg Gagne showed his inexperience in booking it. Also, he didn’t realize that Austin had already wrestled Owen a year ago, becoming the then TV champion. He had since lost the championship, but the history remained. Both men seemed to avoid each other in the locker room since that match, perhaps both not happy with it back in the day. They actually talked in January, perhaps because they had to, in order to plan out their feud. It also offered an opportunity to reconcile some differences and plan the new match that should have been wrestled way back in March of 1995. The result was much better, saving the feud.

Two leaks occurred in January, that of the roster plans and Paul Orndorff’s nagging knee injury. Apparently, Ric Flair’s promise of no more leaks was going to get him in hot water. Avoiding attention, Orndorff sat out the last week of January because he had injured himself in a match against Hulk Hogan, during a TV main event no less. The cocky Orndorff just couldn’t be seen limping around, else his heel character would seriously suffer. Hogan was apologetic about the injury, calling it a fluke occurrence. Orndorff went to see a specialist in California and when he returned, it was not very good news. He could sit out for three months to recover or undergo a routine Chondroplasty, and be out for only a month. The procedure is not relevant to a wrestling report narrative, but needless to say, there were sharp knives and scraping involved. It was a tough decision that he took rather lightly, deciding his best solution was his own solution. He stayed off his feet most days and got up when he had to, such as for Nitro.

In wrestling news, Lex Luger won the Royal Rumble, which took place the day after Clash of the Champions. Verne Gagne bought up Stampede Wrestling, giving Stu Hart a healthy profit. Shane Douglas actually left ECW and went to USWA, perhaps an even smaller wrestling organization. His reason for doing so was that he wasn’t featured in enough main events, quite a shocker from the master politician. Paul Heyman said to him that his check was in the mail. But then, an actual surprise occurred in ECW. Woman cut a promo saying that she signed a deal to pose naked in Playboy. It was shocking that such a high profile magazine would feature her. Nancy Daus aka Woman was going through a divorce at the time, so many critics speculated that she needed money to pay off her ex-husband. At any rate, it spiked attendance for house shows and the large show, ECW Loud and Proud, in January.

Bruce Hart, of the WCW Booking Team, then pulled an Eric Bischoff. He began to speculate that ECW was working with the WWF. How else would Woman get so high profile a magazine appearance? The critics had a field day. They said the WWF got this high profile deal for her and was even taking a percentage. Certainly it was possible, but for both brands to just toss aside their philosophical differences was really not very probable.

Greg Gagne ran his first Booking Team meeting and revealed what he told Ted Turner. This was the information that got him the job. It was simply one thing, not any combination of things. Ted Turner just assumed he was going to make changes, but really didn’t care what they were. It was well-known by now that Ted just wanted his little wrasslin’ show to go on and stop taking up his valuable time. In any case, Gagne’s statement was a good enough statement of entertainment that he wanted to see it done immediately.

Greg Gagne was going to turn Hulk Hogan heel.

Top Five MiPS (Most Important Points) of January 1996:

1. Greg Gagne got his job by saying he was going to turn Hulk Hogan heel.

2. Youngsters are becoming a force, especially the two Seans

3. Ric Flair's promise that there would be no more rumors was false

4. Bruce Hart speculated that the WWF and ECW were working together

5. Bret Hart defended his World Title, which he won at the GAB in August 1995

--

Edited by Nottavictim
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Man, I spent yesterday reading this, And I gotta say, This is one of the best diaries going on right now. I enjoyed the little spotlight specials, And wish you could still do them, They were a good way to know who's who. What I'm really enjoying is Bischoff trying to find out who the leak was (well, Bischoff got canned, so we might not know). I also loved the part with Herd coming in and giving everyone some shitty gimmicks. You also kept this realistic, As far as the main event scene goes, With guys from the WWF coming in and getting killed by Hogan. Keep up the great work, I'll be reading. (Y)

Edited by Nottavictim
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I tried to reveal this during a Wrestling with Shadows segment on page 2, I think. However, even though Ric Flair just came out and said he was the leak, he NOW says that he isn't the leak. Apparently, he's just covering for someone. This is the new mystery. Who is the leak if Ric Flair was lying? Anyway, your post made me try to think of a way to be more clear, so I came up with the brief Most Important Points I will tack on at the end of each post.

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I've been reading this on and off for weeks now and have to say I'm really enjoying it. The style you do it in is to my knowledge unique and on that makes it soo easy to catch up on.

1996 was perhaps my favourite year in wrestling history, save for 2001 maybe. I'm interested to see the differences between your world and reality.

Hogan as a heel should be interesting, and is my tip to be the leak. :shifty:

Bit too much Vader main eventing for my liking, although thats realism. Good to see Hart getting a good run as champion as well. I'm also hoping that Mean Mark will somehow get to use his Undertaker gimmick, although as you said, WWF arent going to let it happen. Still, I can dream. Roll on February I say (Y)

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